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f 



THE 



Revision of the Hymn Book 



METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE TO THE BISHOPS. 



f/O . U. S. A 

NEW YORK: 
NELSON & PHILLIPS. 

CINCINNATI : 
HITCHCOCK & WALDEN. 
1878. 



\ 



To the Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church ; 

When the Committee appointed by you to revise the Hymn 
Book submitted the result of their labors for examination and 
approval, they presented for your consideration certain explan- 
ations concerning the old hymns omitted and the new hymns 
introduced, and they also presented reasons for the revision of 
the text, and for the changes proposed in the topical arrange- 
ment. It was suggested by one of your number that the sub- 
stance of that verbal report, with such facts and explanations 
as would enable the Church to understand the principles and 
results of the revision, be put in a permanent form. In accord- 
ance with that suggestion the Committee have prepared the 
following account of their work, which they herewith submit 
to you, and, through you, to the ministers and members of the 
denomination of Christians for whose use the Hymn Book has 
been prepared. 



Revision of the Symn Sook. 



Previous Hymn Books in Use among the Methodists. 

The origin of the first collection of hymns in use among the 
Methodists of this country cannot be satisfactorily ascertained. 
In 1773 one of Wesley's publications, divided into three books — 
I. Hymns and Spiritual Songs, II. Psalms and Hymns, III. Redemp- 
tion Hymns, sixteenth edition, Bristol — was reprinted by Isaac 
Collins, in Burlington, New Jersey. At the formation of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, in 1784, Wesley's abridgment of the 
Book of Common Prayer, with a" Collection of Psalms and Hymns " 
appended, was adopted by the new communion. It was not, how- 
ever, long employed. There is extant a copy of the " Pocket Hymn 
Book," ninth edition, published in Philadelphia, Pa., 1788. This 
contains two hundred and fifty hymns. We may infer from the 
number of Methodists in the country that the first edition may have 
been published about 1785 or 1786, say twenty years after Embury 
began to preach. 

As the habit of " lining " the hymns prevailed, a comparatively 
small number of books would suffice. We find also an edition "re- 
vised and improved," copyrighted in 1802 by Ezekiel Cooper. This 
contains three hundred and twenty hymns. In 1808 a supplement 
was added by Bishop Asbury, containing three hundred and thirty- 
seven hymns, the whole being published in two books. This was 
revised under the supervision of Nathan Bangs in the year 1820. 
And to this again a supplement was added in 1836. The General 
Conference of 1848 appointed a Committee to carefully revise the 
then existing book, and to " judiciously multiply the number of 
hymns." Their work was completed, and approved by the Book 
Committee, the editors of the Book Concern, and, finally, by the 
Bishops, by whom it was commended to the Church in May, 1849. 



6 



It will be seen from these facts that the book now to be offered to 
the Methodist Episcopal Church is the seventh in number, and 
that the average life, if we may so speak, of each collection has 
been less than sixteen years. It will also be seen that the expres- 
sion, the " old Hymn Book," is, like all allusions to duration and 
association, limited and relative. As soon as the new Hymn Book 
shall have been published, the existing work will be, to the present 
generation, the "old Hymn Book." But to all who came upon the 
stage prior to May, 1849, ar >d subsequent to 1836, the Bangs 
revision with the supplement was the old book, and the present 
collection the new ; while to Nathan Bangs the pocket edition, 
with supplement, . was the old, and his own work the new. 
Those, therefore, who desired the permanent use of the book 
of 1849, and remonstrated against its revision, had not made 
themselves familiar with the history of Methodist Hymn Books, 
or else expected that the inexorable law of change would in this 
case be set aside. After the separation of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church, South, its General Conference in 1846 ordered the 
preparation of a collection specially designed for its members, 
which was in some respects a decided improvement on the book 
of 1820 with supplement. The various smaller bodies of Method- 
ists have employed books prepared by themselves. 

Hymn Books of Other Denominations. 

When our present collection was given to the Church it was, 
without doubt, superior to most, if not all, of the then existing books, 
and its publication acted as a powerful stimulant to others. But 
during the last twenty years nearly every religious organization 
has revised its " book of praise," and the committees of revision 
had the advantage of our standard book, and also of a continually 
increasing mass of materials, not only of modern composition, but 
of ancient origin, which the skill and patience of translators and 
compilers had made accessible. Thus a work which was confess- 
edly superior to most books of its time had become inferior to 
those of more recent date. Its defects had become by contrast 



7 



unpleasantly apparent Hence for nearly eight years the expedi- 
ency of making some improvement in the Methodist Hymn Book 
has been more or less discussed in the journals of the Church, and 
by its ministers and members. 

General Conference of 1872, 

At the General Conference of 1872 a Committee was appointed 
to consider and report upon the propriety of revising the Hymn 
Book, and after due deliberation reported in favor of it. ' But it was 
urged by some that the wish of the Church had not been sufficiently 
ascertained, and that it would be unjust to destroy or diminish the 
value of the large sum which the people, on the authority of the 
General Conference, and the recommendation of the Bishops, had 
invested in Hymn Books. The matter was presented at a time 
when it could not receive proper attention, and after some debate 
the motion to adopt the report was lost. During the Quadrennium 
succeeding, the discussion went on, and many whose attention had 
never been called to the subject before made a careful examination 
of the book, comparing it with the Hymn Books of other denomi- 
nations and with the Wesleyan collection, and the result of this 
examination was a growing dissatisfaction with our Hymn Book, 
and an increasing conviction that it ought to be thoroughly re- 
vised. 

General Conference of 1876. 

When the General Conference assembled in Baltimore, in 1876, 
a motion was made for a Committee on the subject, and 
John N. Brown, William Rice, 

Albert S. Hunt, Samuel H. Nesbitt, 

George M. Steele, James M. Buckley, 

John J. Manker, Arthur Edwards, 

Cyrus Brooks, James H. Wilbur, 

Benjamin St. James Fry, Henry Liebhart, 

were appointed. After full discussion, they unanimously agreed 
that the present collection contains a considerable number of 
commonplace hymns, and many which, while inappropriate for 



I 



8 

public use, have no special merits for private reading. They agreed, 
further, that it is defective in not containing many of the excellent 
hymns now in general use, and likely to prove of permanent value, 
and also, that it is peculiarly wanting in hymns appropriate for 
special occasions. Their report, which was adopted, after debate 
and amendment, by more than three fourths voting thereon, was 
as follows : — 

" The Committee on the Revision of the Hymn Book have care- 
fully considered the various papers referred to them, and respect- 
fully report to the General Conference, that they are unanimously 
of the opinion that a thorough revision of the Hymn Book now in 
use is imperatively demanded. We therefore recommend — 

" i. That the Board of Bishops be requested to appoint, as soon 
as practicable, a Committee of fifteen, to whom shall be committed 
the work of revision. 

" 2. That this Committee be selected with reference to convenience 
of location for division into three sections for working purposes. 

"3. That when the work of preparatory revision shall be com- 
pleted by the several sections, the whole Committee shall be duly 
notified, and the work of each section shall be revised ; and that 
no hymn now in use shall be excluded without a vote of two-thirds 
of the Committee for its rejection, and that no hymn not now in 
the collection shall be admitted without a vote of two-thirds of the 
Committee in its favor. 

"4. That when the Committee have completed their work they 
shall submit their report to the Bishops for their approval, and, the 
Bishops approving, they are authorized to commend it to the 
Church. 

" 5. That after the Committee aforesaid shall have completed their 
revision of the Hymn Book, and their work has been approved by 
the Bishops, as provided for in item four, they shall have power to 
prepare a suitable Hymn and Tune Book for the use of the Church. 

"6. No compensation shall be paid to the Committee employed 
in the revisal except for actual expenses incurred." 

This action of the General Conference devolved on the Bishops 



9 

the responsibility of appointing the Committee. The measure of 
time indicated by the General Conference was in the words " That 
the Board of Bishops be requested to appoint, as soon as practi- 
cable, a Committee of fifteen, to whom shall be committed the work 
of revision." 

The Committee Selected by the Bishops. 

After the lapse of a few weeks the Bishops selected the Com- 
mittee, and entered into correspondence with those whom they 
desired to appoint, addressing to them the following letter : — 

New York, June 6, 1876. 
Dear Brother : — The late General Conference instructed the Bishops to 
appoint a Committee of fifteen to revise the Hymn Book, and to prepare a Hymn 
and Tune Book. The Committee is to consist of three divisions, of five each. 
Each person is required to go through the whole revision ; then, each sec- 
tion of the Committee ; and then, the/ whole Committee. The labor, therefore, 
is great. It is to be performed gratuitously. The Book Concern will pay all 
bills of expenses incurred in doing the work, but no compensation for services. 
The Bishops propose to appoint you on the commission, if you agree to render 
the service on the foregoing conditions. Please answer, and direct to 805 
Broadway, New York. 

Yours fraternally, (for the Bishops,) 

E. S. Janes. 

The Committee, as finally constituted, consisted of the following 
persons, " selected with reference to convenience of location for 
division into three sections for working purposes," according to 
the second resolution of the General Conference, viz. : — 

New York, or Middle Section. 

James M. Buckley, Richard Wheatley, 

Erastus Wentworth, John N. Brown, 

Hon. Charles E. Hendrickson. 

Boston, or Eastern Section. 
D. A. Whedon, George Prentice, 

William Rice, Charles F. Allen, 

Calvin S. Harrington. 



10 



Western Section. 
F. D. Hemenway, J. H. Bayliss, 

Arthur Edwards, Charles H. Payne, 

William Hunter. 

The following letter was addressed to the person first named in 
the respective sections, by the late Rev. Bishop Janes, and was one 
of his very last official acts : — 

New York, Aug. 28, 1876. 
Dear Brother: — You will see by this week's Advocate that you are 
appointed first on (your) section of the Hymn Book Revision Committee. I 
think it was expected by the Bishops that you would act as chairman : at least 
so far as to call the Committee together for organization. It is important that 
this should be done as soon as possible. There are very urgent reasons why 
the work should be finished as soon as possible. I will venture a suggestion. 
If the whole Committee could meet and agree upon the hymns of the present 
book which they would retain, and then adjourn, and each section agree upon 
the new ones they wished inserted, I think they would simplify and expedite 
the work very greatly. No one has a right to call such a general meeting, but 
if the section Committees at their coming together to organize should agree 
upon such a meeting, then the brethren might be invited to meet in general 
Committee. 

Yours fraternally in Christ, 

E. S. Janes. 

Authorized by this communication, the brethren to whom it was 
addressed called together the members of their respective sections. 
At these meetings the whole work was canvassed, views were 
exchanged, and the subject of a general meeting was fully con- 
sidered. It was at once apparent that it would be a great waste 
of time and energy for the sections to work without an interchange 
of views. If there should be a difference of opinion as to the size 
of the book, one section considering it desirable to reduce the 
number of hymns to four or five hundred, another to eight hundred, 
and the third, perhaps, regarding the present book as none too 
large, and the work should be done separately, the results would 
be wholly incompatible. The section desiring a book of five hun- 
dred hymns must eliminate seven hundred and fifty of the hymns 



1 1 



now in use, in order to make it possible to introduce one hundred 
new hymns, while the section thinking the present book none 
too large could retain seven hundred and fifty, and still have 
room for four hundred new ones. To harmonize and utilize 
these results would be impossible. Yet such differences of opin- 
ion were very likely to arise ; and as on the refusal of six to 
concur no hymn now in the collection could be rejected, and none 
from without admitted without' ten votes in its favor, the completion 
of the work would be frustrated, or at .best be the result of an 
unsatisfactory compromise. These considerations confirmed the 
wisdom of the suggestion made by the senior Bishop, and the 
sections unanimously agreed to call a meeting of the whole Com- 
mittee. The time was arranged by correspondence, and the first 
meeting was held in the Book Concern, at New York, beginning on 
Monday, Nov. 20, 1876, at 2 P. M., and closing on Thursday, Nov. 
23, at 11:30 P. M. At this meeting views were exchanged and 
suggestions presented on almost every topic related to revision, 
and preliminary arrangements made for various matters which 
could be facilitated by such action. Considerable attention was 
given to particular hymns, and the Committee separated with the 
conviction that this preparatory meeting would be the means of a 
great saving of time and labor. 



Methods of Work in. Sections. 

It was agreed in the various sections that every member should 
first privately examine every hymn in the present collection, and 
determine the following questions : First— What hymns should man- 
ifestly be retained ? Second— What hymns should as manifestly be 
omitted ? Third— What hymns, though passable, may be spared if 
something better can be found to take their places ? In pursuance 
of such agreement the most careful examination was made, and 
when the meeting of the section was held every member came with 
his book so marked that he knew the moment a hymn was called 
up what his opinion of it was. To facilitate such examination and 



12 



marking, the Agents at New York prepared a copy of the book in 
two volumes, bound with alternate blank leaves, on which annota- 
tions could be made. Announcements having been made in the 
Church papers of the willingness of the Committee to receive 
suggestions from any quarter, many letters — some of them con- 
taining valuable information, and observations of much practical 
utility — were received ; and when the section convened these were 
read and considered. To read and treat these communications 
with proper respect was in itself a work of no light importance or 
labor. The hymns were then taken up seriatim, and voted upon, 
discussion being had upon all points of interest. It was not until 
this work had been thoroughly done that the general meeting was 
held for the final determination as to what hymns should be re- 
tained or rejected. At that meeting every hymn in the book was » 
discussed even more carefully than it had been done in the sec- 
tions. Debates arose and continued for hours on a single hymn 
or part of a hymn. It was allowable, also, to call for another vote 
on a hymn at any stage of the proceedings prior to the final sub- 
mission of the report to the Bishops for their approval. This made 
it almost impossible that the preferences of any one should be 
treated with disrespect, or, that all attainable light should not be 
reflected on every question. Thus the hymns were regularly gone 
over three times, once privately, and twice accompanied by debate 
and mutual criticism. The members of the Committee also read 
and re-read them in the company of friends and brethren, and 
carefully followed the course of discussion in the papers of the 
Church. The second general meeting was held in New York, and 
began on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 1877, at 10 A. M., and finally ad- 
journed on Friday, March 2, at 2 P. M. While the greater part of 
the time was necessarily devoted to the revision of the text and 
the consideration of new hymns, the question of hymns retained 
or rejected was frequently recurred to, and at this meeting, into 
which were probably crowded more labor and hours of labor than 
the members of the Committee had ever given for the same num- 
ber of days to any enterprise of personal interest to themselves, 



13 

the old hymns were virtually re-examined ; so that nothing was 
omitted which could assist in reaching a correct judgment on the 
delicate question of elimination. We may here observe that the 
same course substantially was followed with respect to new hymns. 
First, every member selected such compositions as he thought it 
desirable to introduce. Second, these were presented to the sec- 
tion to which the member presenting them belonged. They were 
then considered and discussed, and if they passed the section by 
vote they were, thirdly, placed in the hands of a special Committee 
of one from each section, entitled, " Committee on New Hymns." 
It was the duty of this Committee to arrange and classify such 
hymns as might be submitted to it, and also to collate all informa- 
tion concerning them which might be deemed valuable. But if 
any brother thought that his section had erred in not recommend- 
ing any particular hymn he was allowed to present it to the special 
Committee. Finally, that Committee brought forward all the hymns 
in its possession which were considered suitable, in such order as 
the general Committee prescribed. The members were furnished 
with a printed list containing the first line of every new hymn 
proposed, with a reference to the book and page where it could be 
found. Some days were then allowed in which to become 
thoroughly acquainted with such as might be entirely new to any 
member. They were then taken up in order, every hymn was 
audibly read — some several times — and discussed, not only as a 
whole, but verse by verse, and in many instances line by line. It 
was in this case, as in the other, allowable to ask to have the 
question tried again, and no hymn not at the last receiving ten 
votes obtained admission. To complete the work, special Com- 
mittees were appointed on the revision of text, on topics, on table 
of contents, on table of Scripture texts, on subjects, on titles of 
hymns, on indexes of first lines and of first lines of every verse 
but the first, and on authors' names and dates. It will be seen 
that these methods, while they involved a great amount of labor, 
constituted a system of safeguards such as, probably, no other book 
ever had. 



14 

Principles Adopted in the Exclusion of Hymns. 

It was at once apparent and universally admitted that every ex- 
cellent hymn must be retained, and that no good hymn should be 
ejected except to make room for a better ; also that hymns that 
were universally known, sung, and loved, even if they could not 
endure the rigid application of sound rules of criticism, could not 
be disturbed. Full reflection made it clear to most, if not to all, that 
it was necessary to retain hymns in which there are certain words, 
phrases, or stanzas which have impressed the common mind of the 
Church, and, having been committed to memory, are frequently 
heard in prayer, testimony, and exhortation. The Committee also 
concluded that where it is necessary to have hymns on certain sub- 
jects, and the hymns now in the collection on those subjects 
are not specially meritorious, but appear equal or nearly equal to 
any that can be found elsewhere, they should not be excluded. In 
the discussions on particular hymns it was seen that a peculiar 
eclecticism prevails in the Church, so that hymns not used at all 
in certain parts of the country are very popular elsewhere. It was 
not an uncommon occurrence for a member of the Committee to 
affirm that he had never known a certain hymn to be read or sung 
in public worship during many years' experience, and to be fol- 
lowed by others who declared that that very hymn is among the 
most popular in the section with which they were familiar. This 
fact confirms the truly representative character of the Committee * 
as a whole, and led to the retention of many hymns which, by indi- 
vidual preference and action, would have been omitted. A careful 
examination of particular hymns in the light of these facts and 
principles will, we think, in most cases justify their retention. But 
as the book now to be displaced contains one thousand one hun- 
dred and forty-eight hymns, it was necessary that some should be 
omitted, or it would be impossible to introduce any new matter. 
It was, therefore, imperative on us to adopt certain principles to 
guide in rejection as well as in retention ; especially as rejection 
is a positive and aggressive act, while retention might be the result 
of a kind of moral inertia or of the law of pre-emption. These 



i5 

principles were elaborated in the sections and in personal conver- 
sation, and avowed by individuals in debate or in giving reasons for 
their votes, but were never formulated or by resolution adopted. 
They were, however, none the less clearly recognized. It is hoped 
that the thoughtful and discriminating reader of this report will 
be at the pains to consider the hymns which we have omitted in 
the light of these principles, and as parts of the whole book, and 
not merely as separate compositions. 

It should also be kept -steadily in mind that certain new hymns, 
that is, new to our collection, which are very popular, useful, and 
unexceptionable, very much resemble in style and doctrine certain 
hymns in our present book, which, under the influence of causes 
difficult to ascertain, have never been used to any great extent 
among us. To introduce the former and retain the latter would 
be, in the language of one of the omitted hymns, " redundant and 
vain." Accordingly, we have, in a few instances, substituted for 
hymns of considerable merit others of no greater merit, but to 
which the Christian Church in general, and our own denomination 
as well, has given its approval. 

We will now state the principles on which we have proceeded, 
giving under each the numbers of specimen hymns in the present 
collection. Many of these might have been placed under several 
of the principles as properly as under the one selected, and various 
reasons often contributed to the rejection of the same hymn. But 
as far as possible we have arranged them under the determining rule. 
It is not intended to indicate all the omitted hymns here specified, 
though, perhaps, the majority of them are brought forward ; the 
purpose being merely to afford the materials of judging the work 
of the revisers by their own principles. 

First. Inferior hymns have been rejected : those which are un- 
poetical, ungrammatical, inelegant, or commonplace ; and yet an ex- 
ception must be noted here. At first thought many would say that 
there should be no exception to the rule, and that inferior hymns 
should receive no mercy. But what if confessedly inferior hymns, 
or hymns containing serious blemishes, have become very popular 



i6 

and unquestionably useful ? What if they have become incorpo- 
rated with the religious experience of thousands ? Such hymns are 
quite numerous, and must be retained. We give as an example, 
hymn 428 : — 

" And can I yet delay 

My little all to give ? 
To tear my soul from earth away 

For Jesus to receive ? " 

The present relation of this stanza to the Church would make it 
almost sacrilege to propose touching it. Yet if it had never been 
heard or sung, its awkwardness would have prevented it from being 
offered. We do not, therefore, claim to have excluded all unpoet- 
ical, inelegant, ungrammatical, or commonplace hymns. But where 
the exception just mentioned has not restrained us, we have endeav- 
ored to do so. We present as specimens, 23, 53, 55, 69: — 
75. See verse 2. 

"The sea beheld his power, and fled, 
Disparted by the wondrous rod." 
" The mountains skipp'd like frighten'd rams, 
The hills leap'd after them as lambs." 

86. See verse 5. 90, verse 2, last three lines, tautology; verse 
3, last four lines extremely awkward. 

1 10, 124. 171, verse 2, last line inelegant and whole hymn tame. 

257 and 262 will be parted with without regret. 

269 contains in the second verse a figure which will not bear 
inspection. It might be endured in a hymn of greater general 
power and usefulness, but standing alone it is unsatisfactory. 

305 is uncouth, and contains allusions which can with propriety 
be dispensed with. 

365, 421, 449. The general figure of hymn 449 removes it far 
from the spirit of our time and people, and the second verse — 

" Me, in my blood, thy love pass'd by, 

And stopp'd my ruin to retrieve ; 
Wept o'er my soul thy pitying eye ; 

Thy bowels yearn'd, and sounded. — Live ! " — 
is too offensive to good taste to be retained. 



i7 

530 seems a kind of inventory of scriptural figures, and has 
made no impression on the Church. 

535 is long, inelegant, and far below the average of Charles 
Wesley's poetry, while the last line of each verse renders it un- 
suitable for public reading or for singing. 

68 1 is an unpoetical translation of a beautiful psalm, and the 
third verse is faulty in construction. 

724 is not equal to the preceding part, and unnecessary. 

733 is ungrammatical, and in other respects unsatisfactory. 

761, "Wings had I," is objectionable, and not redeemed by the 
rest of the hymn. 

772, 776, 792, 809, 811. 826 is uncouth. 827, "Spring up, O 
well," is scriptural, but not adapted to a hymn. 

855, 864. Both these hymns are commonplace. The last lines 
of 864 are — 

" Never to be broke off again 
To all eternity." 

873, 980, 1011, 1021, 1022, 1036, 1065, 1099. 11 16 is not equal 
to other hymns on the same subject, and in the fifth and sixth 
verses is too prosaic. 

We think that it cannot be considered desirable to retain any 
of the above hymns. 

There are many such, that were rejected not so much on account 
of what they are, as on account of what they are not. 

Second. Where there were several hymns very much alike, con- 
taining the same figures, or teaching the same truth in the same 
way, we omitted one or more of them. 37, 81, 96, 106. The ex- 
pression "Whom angels dimly see," in the second verse of 106, 
can be found in the first verse of hymn 128, while there are other 
hymns teaching the same general truth. 127, 139, 147, 162, 232, 
240, 317, 319, 357, 383. 443> 453,490, 512, 555, 598, 654, 753, 786, 
989,993, 1092. Hymn 1107 was regarded as objectionable in 
style, and ill adapted to impress the heart and conscience with the 
solemn truth it was intended to embody. Some of these would 
2 



i8 

have been retained if there had not been others similar in char- 
acter and better. 

Third. Hymns doctrinally unsound, or liable to be so inter- 
preted as to teach, or confirm, or illustrate, doctrines at variance 
with those which Methodists believe to be taught in the word of 
God, were as far as possible eliminated. There were, of course, 
but few such in the collection. 258 implies a belief in baptismal 
regeneration, a doctrine held by Charles Wesley, and never as dis- 
tinctly repudiated by John Wesley as could have been desired, 
but entirely contrary to the standard belief of Methodism on this 
subject. Its allusion to children is in strange contrast with the 
words of Jesus, " Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid 
them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." The second 
verse speaks thus : — 

" Born they are, as we, in sin ; 

Make the unconscious lepers clean." 

314, if not unsound, is at least a questionable mode of stating 
the moral condition of a penitent sinner. 
The second verse of 386 is, 

" I tremble, lest the wrath divine, 

Which bruises now my wretched soul, 
Should bruise this wretched soul of mine 
Long as eternal ages roll." 

This would seem to imply that conviction of sin and penitential 
grief are produced by the wrath of God. If we assume the 
meaning to be correct, it is unfortunately expressed. 

397 in the second verse represents many as declaring what, if 
true of all, is robbed of special meaning, and what, if not true of 
all, cannot without cant be sung by all : 

" Ne'er was a heart more base 

And false than mine has been ; 
More faithless to its promises, — 

More prone to every sin." 

While Saint Paul confessed himself the chief of sinners, he could 
never have intended to say that there never had been a heart 



*9 

more base and false than his had been, " more prone to every sin." 
It may be questioned whether he that prays, "When wilt thou 
bow my stubborn will ? " is not already in submission, or whether, 
if he be not in that state, it is not his duty at once to submit ; in a 
word, whether omnipotence will bow the will of a stubborn sinner, 
or whether a stubborn sinner can really offer such a prayer. Such 
averse "leans too much to Calvinism ". in expression, and, we 
think, in doctrine, to fully harmonize with either the Scriptures or 
Wesleyan theology. 

Let it not be supposed that there was in the Committee any 
disposition to soften the scriptural testimony which Methodism 
has borne to the humbling doctrines of human depravity and guilt. 
An inspection of what they have retained, and what they have intro- 
duced, will protect them from this suspicion. They did, however, 
act under the belief that extreme and unnatural statements should 
be avoided ; that, instead of leading the carnal mind to reflection, 
and humility, they intensify its opposition, and give it the show of 
reason for its unbelief; and that God does not require the sinner, 
being penitent, to confuse all distinctions of guilt and differences 
of desert in one indiscriminate confession that he is the worst 
being in the universe. 

On the other hand, 1006 makes statements which appear 
naturally to imply the final salvation of all, or the annihilation of 
all moral evil: 

" Rejoice, ye that love him ; his power cannot fail ; 

His omnipotent goodness shall surely prevail ; 

The triumph of evil will shortly be past, 

And omnipotent mercy shall conquer at last." 

This stanza, having a much more literal than figurative cast, 
could plausibly be quoted as teaching the final destruction, in one 
way or another, of moral evil. This fact, notwithstanding the spirit 
and beauty of the poem, taken in connection with its difficult 
meter, led to its elimination. 

Fourth. Hymns which, though good religious poems, owing to 
peculiarities of style or language, or for some other reason, have 



20 



never been extensively sung, or, so far as we could ascertain, much 
read or quoted, we thought it best to exclude. 

Of such are 22, 52, 93, 104, 115, 136, 159, 407, 528, 765, 793, 
796, 1087, 1 102. 

■ Fifth. Hymns of unusual meters, if capable of being substituted 
by equally good hymns of simpler composition, have been laid 
aside. We mention a few under this head : 49, 115, 153, 189, 230, 
239> 383, 476, 478, 77i, 820, 887, 960, 971, 1046. 

Sixth. Where we found an unusually large number of hymns of 
one particular and difficult meter, special attention has been paid to 
reducing the number, care being taken to lose no gem of poetry 
or historic expression of devotion. The . foil owing, if equally good 
and in simpler measures, or in those for which good congregational 
tunes could be found, might not have been left out : 161, 200, 253, 
259> 3° 2 > 320, 479, 514, 548, 685, 713, 729, 743, 852, 920, 1080, 

IO85, II 12, 1 1 19. 

Seventh. Of hymns too didactic for the purposes of a hymn, 
there were many, some of which have been brought forward under 
other rules that were sufficient to condemn them, but which 
would have been cast out on this ground alone. We refer to a few 
of this class : 64, 214, 336,. 695, 985, 1040, 11 24. 

Eighth. We found a small number of hymns in which the rhythm 
and accent do not seem to be in harmony with the sentiment. 387 
is in a meter which in popular use moves in a very lively manner. 
419, 455, 639, 105 1, 1088, are of the same description. Hence, on 
account of the incongruity between the sentiments of these hymns 
and such tunes as the people are likely to find in those meters, 
they have been seldom sung. These have been omitted. 

In the doxologies we' made no alteration, except in that of the 
second or common meter. The expression, " Who -sweetly all 
agree," predicated of the unity .of the adorable Trinity, seems feeble, 
and we have substituted a much more ancient and generally used 
common meter doxology, which is not open to that objection. 

We may add that certain hymns had been so altered and muti- 
lated that it was deemed dishonest to make their authors responsible 



21 



for them ; and as they are not known to the Church in their original 
form, and are not of great value, they have not been retained. For 
example, 45 was altered in every verse and nearly every line ; 180 
was originally a very fair common meter hymn, and was metamor- 
phosed into a 2^st particular, and weakened in every verse. 

The Size of the Hymn Book. 

It may have occurred to some who have followed us thus far 
that the application of these principles would of necessity reduce 
the book to so small a number of hymns that there would be space 
for the addition of several hundred new hymns, and that the sum 
of old and new would be much less than that of the present 
compilation. Several, if not the majority, of the Committee entered 
upon the work of revision with the conviction that the book to be 
revised is much too large, and with the determination to produce 
a book which should contain the cream of the present hymns, with 
the addition of the best that could be obtained' elsewhere, and that 
the whole would be comprised in a volume not more than two 
thirds as large as the book which it would supersede. But after 
the most earnest efforts, in which, in the spirit of compromise, all 
participated, it was found impossible to strike out more than three 
hundred and eighty-one hymns, leaving seven hundred and sixty- 
seven in the book before one new line was added. In fact, the 
book was considerably larger when the work of elimination was 
* completed than some thought it should be when the whole work 
was finished and given to the Church. The General Conference 
made it necessary that ten should vote against any hymn now in 
the collection before it could be thrown out. Yet the number of 
instances where a bare vote of the sufficient majority cast out a 
hymn was not very large — not larger, in proportion, than the 
number where the minority vote prevented the admission of new 
hymns. The simple fact is that there are so many good, useful, 
and popular hymns in the book, and so many historic possessions 
which, though seldom sung, are often read, that when the vote was 
taken on hymns one by one, it was impossible to remove more 



22 



than the number stated. But some may say, " If that be so, if the 
book be large enough, why add any new hymns at all ? " To which 
the natural and sufficient reply is, that there are many hymns not 
in the book that should be in the possession of Methodists ; that it' 
is the genius of Methodism to revere the past, appropriate all that 
is good in the present, and joyfully anticipate the future. 

We have added in all three hundred and seventy-one new hymns, 
and if any are disposed to think the book too large, we remind 
them of the fact now adduced, that the size of the book was 
practically determined before we began our work, by the quality or 
history of so many hymns already in the possession of the Church, 
that we could not eliminate more than three hundred and eighty- 
one before introducing new hymns. 

That the reader may see that our book is not to be unusually 
large, we append the following statement of the number of hymns 
contained in the leading books in use in this country: — 

Book of the Evangelical Lutheran Church 1024 

Plymouth Collection, including Doxologies „ 1400 

Songs of the Sanctuary, the most popular Hymn and Tune Book ever pub- 
lished , 1342 



Baptist Praise Book, beside Chants .... 

Baptist Psalmist 

Hymns and Songs of Praise 

Southern Methodist 

Our present book 

The new book which we have prepared 



1311 

1310 

1416 

1063 

1 148 m 

1138* 



Excluding our own books from the above list, the average num- 
ber of hymns in the seven leading Hymn Books there given is 1266, 
showing that our new book will contain 128 less than the average; 
278 less than Hymns and Songs of Praise ; and 204 less than the 
Songs of the Sanctuary. 

We are persuaded, also, that this subject of the size of the 
book will present less difficulty than ever before, in view of the 
number and character of the editions which the Agents intend to 
publish. 



23 

Eevision of the Text of the Hymns Eetained. 

Having decided upon the hymns to be retained, the next question 
that presented itself was as to the text of these hymns. This ques- 
tion we should have been glad to find no necessity for considering. 
We would have chosen to take the work of our predecessors as a 
finality, and to reprint these old hymns with no change whatever. 
But only a slight examination was needed to convince us that this 
was out of the question. Some of our most cherished hymns — the 
very heart of our hymnology — we found to differ not only from the 
originals, but from the same hymns as found in every other hymnal 
within our knowledge. In the case of some of our most familiar 
and characteristic Methodist hymns we found changes by which 
the book we Were set to revise was made to differ from all other 
Methodist hymn books. And the fact that in any instance, no 
matter how apparently trivial and unimportant, the text in that 
book stood absolutely alone, indicated most clearly that we could 
not evade the duty of carefully examining to see whether such a 
text should stand. This examination we have sought to make, 
taking special care in all important cases to seek the highest and 
most authoritative testimony as to the original text. 

We have sought to conduct this textual revision in the spirit of 
a true literary and theological conservatism. Recognizing the right 
of every man to express his own thoughts in his own way, we have 
not felt at liberty to make alterations except for clear and cogent 
reasons. We have felt that the mere caprice of hymn-menders 
should weigh nothing against these reasons or without them. 
Hence we have inclined in every case in which there were not 
strong reasons to the contrary to retain the language and arrange- 
ment of the original ; and, in cases of uncertainty, of that text 
which is best known and most widely approved. For the sake, 
therefore, of securing greater purity of text, and also a more perfect 
harmony with other branches of the Church, and in particular with 
other branches of the great Wesleyan family, we have felt con- 
strained to modify to some extent the text and the arrangement of 
some of the old hymns retained. 



2 4 



The following is an illustrative, but not an exhaustive, 
list of these textual changes, most of which are restorations. 
The numbers given are the numbers as they stand in the old book. 

In 8, v. 3, we have restored the original "Let us vie;" so the 
reading is — 

" Fill'd with holy emulation, 
Let us vie with those above." 

We have also restored a verse which had been omitted from the 
hymn as printed in our old book. 

In 95, v. 3, we have restored the bold and poetic language of 
Charles Wesley, for which more prosy and less characteristic words 
had been substituted ; so that the hymn now stands as in other 
Wesleyan hymn books, 

" By faith the upper choir we meet 
And challenge them to sing." 

In 98, v. 2, "journey" is substituted by "footsteps," and "thine 
arm " by " thy love." The verse now reads — 

" If on the wings of morn we speed 

To earth's remotest bound, 
Thy hand will there our footsteps lead, 

Thy love our path surround." 

In the familiar and much-used hymn of Bishop Heber, on the 
nativity, 117, we have eliminated from the third verse what would 
seem to have been at the first a mere typographical error, but has 
proved to be a most persistent one, so that the hymn now has 
" odors of Edom," and not " odors of Eden." 

In 128, v. 3, we have made a very important restoration. Instead 
of the disjointed and well-nigh unintelligible lines — 

" What meant the suffering Son of man, — 
The streaming blood divine ? " 

we restore — 

"What meant, thou suffering Son of man, 
Thy streaming blood divine ? " 

In 185 we have restored the language in three places, where it 
had been changed, in each instance, at the sacrifice of expressive- 



25 

ness and poetic spirit. In v. 2 we have put " darkness " for " all 
gloom," and in v. 4, "that" for "thine," and "exulting then we" 
for " with joy we then," so that the hymn now closes, as in all the 
most approved versions of it — 

" Exulting then we feel and own 
Our Saviour glorified." 

The beautiful hymn of Mrs. Sigourney, 186, has suffered so 
seriously at the hands of the hymn-menders that we have found it 
not easy to determine as to the original text. But amid the variety 
as to this matter, we have been gratified to find what has seemed to 
us the best form of the hymn commended by strong, though not 
conclusive, evidences of genuineness. This differs from the text in 
our former book, by substituting in v. 1 " let " for " whose," and 
" guide " for " point" The first two lines of the second verse are 
made to read — 

" Turn us with gentle voice 
From every sinful way." 

The first two lines of verse third — 

" By thine inspiring breath 
Make every cloud of care." 

And verse fourth now reads — 

" O fill thou every heart 

With love to all our race ; 
Great Comforter, to us impart 

These blessings of thy grace." 

In 204, v. I, " he shall be damned " is substituted for " and he 
condemned." 

In 206 we have put " solemn " for " awful," so that the reading is 

" Now let them from the mouth of God 
Their solemn charge receive." 

In 215, v. 3, for 

" And thus reward their toil and pain," 

we have restored 

" Nor let them labor, Lord, in vain." 



26 



224 na d been strangely mutilated by the omission of a couplet 
from each of the original six line stanzas. These lines we have re- 
stored, and so the hymn will stand in the new book in the same form 
as in all other collections in which it is found at all. 

340. This is one of the boldest and most characteristic of Charles 
Wesley's hymns, and one, too, which is not found in most other 
Methodist hymnals. It is, then, a matter of special regret that this 
hymn has, in many places, been wantonly changed, apparently for 
no higher reason than the caprice or fancy of an editor, though in 
one place the change is not without theologic significance. In this 
hymn we have made the following substitutions : — 

Verse 1, line 4 — 

" Covered with his flowing blood," 

for 

" Stained and covered with his blood." 
Verse 2, line 4 — 

" Pierced him with a soldier's spear," 

for 

" Plunged into his side the spear." 

Line 6 — 

" For a sinful world he dies," 

for 

" While for sinful man he dies." 

Verse 3, "die" for "bleed," and "our God" for "thy Lord," thus— 
" Wilt thou let him die in vain ? 
Still to death pursue our God ? " 

In 345 we have made two changes. Instead of — 

" Flows for every thirsty soul," 

we have put — 

"Flows to you, to me, to all." 

And instead of — 

" By the Spirit ratified," 

we have adopted — 

" Sealed when he was glorified." 

367. The fourth verse is made to read — 

" Come and manifest thy favor 

To our ruined, guilty race, 
Come, thou universal Saviour ; 

Come, and bring the gospel grace." 



27 

And the last two lines of v. 5— 

" Every weary, wandering spirit 
Guide into thy perfect peace." 

368. The last line of verse 3 is changed so as to read— - 
" And banish all my sin." 

372. A small but important change is made in the last line by 
restoring " take " for " let." This hymn is found in " Hymns and 
Sacred Poems," 1749, and there, as well as in all leading Wesleyan 
Hymn Books, the reading is "take." 

430. In the first line " prodigal" is substituted for "long-lost 
son." 

564. This litany hymn of Sir Robert Grant deservedly ranks 
among the choicest in our language. In our former edition it was 
very much abbreviated and marred. We have restored it complete, 
and count it a special satisfaction to be instrumental in bringing it 
back to its integrity and purity. 

572, v. 2, 1. 4, "prayer" for "love," so that the reading is — 
" And trembling to its Source return, 
In humble prayer and fervent praise." 

581. In the fifth line of the last verse of this most famous of 
American hymns we have put "distrust" for "distress," following 
in this the original, as well as conforming to the leading hymnals 
that contain the hymn. 

606, v. 3— 

" To thee I consecrate my days," 

instead of 

" To thee devote my nights and days." 
609, v. 4, now reads — 

" Should swift death this night o'ertake us, 

And our couch become our tomb, 
May the morn in heaven awake us, 
Clad in light and deathless bloom." 

621, v. 2, " hopes " for " thoughts ;" v. 3, "cleave to" for "rest 
with." 

633, v. 4, "we ask not" for "unasked," and "we ask" for 
" though asked." 



28 



640. In this hymn the first person singular is restored through- 
out, as, " If death my friends and me divide," etc. 

672. v. 1, "alia mother's" for "kind paternal." 

673. In the first verse the text is restored, so as to read— 

" I, too, forewarned by Jesus' love, 

Must shortly lay this body down ; 
But ere my soul from earth remove, 
O let me put thine image on." 

And in the second verse "house" is substituted for "home," con- 
trasting with " tent " in the preceding line. 

674. The last two lines of the eighth verse are made to read — 

" Ardent for thy coming o'er, 

See, they throng the blissful shore." 

678. In the fourth verse — ■ 

" My soul rejoices to pursue," 

for 

" Our souls rejoicingly pursue." 

Also "I" for " we," and " my" for " our." 

683. The last two lines of the second verse are restored, so as to 
read— 

" Life, light, and joy it still imparts, 
And quells our rising fears." 

684, v. I, " bed " is substituted for " shed ; " in v. 2, " a bright- 
er" for "the Scriptures;" in v. 3, "gladly" for "let us," and the 
last two lines are made to read — 

" Who meekly follow Christ on earth, 
Shall reign with him in heaven." 

723, v. 2, " I lift it " for " 'tis lifted," " standard-bearer I " for 
"standard-bearers now," and 

" Let all to Jesus' cross draw nigh," 

for 

" To Jesus' cross ye nations bow." 
731, v. 4, "Fight on my soul" for "then persevere." 
746. The text of this hymn has been changed to conform to the 



2 9 



preference of the venerable author, William Cullen Bryant, ex- 
pressed to a member of the committee in an autograph letter : 

Verse i- — 

" Deem not that they are blest alone 

Whose days a peaceful tenor keep ; 
The anointed Son of God makes known 

A blessing for the eyes that weep." 

Verse 3, Is. 3, 4— 

" And grief may bide an evening guest, 
But joy shall come with early light." 

Verse 5, Is. 3, 4 — 

" And heaven's long age of bliss shall pay 
For all his children suffer here." 

748, v. 3, " thou wilt " for " Christ can ; " v. 4, " thy " for " his ; " 
and in v. 5, " thee " for " him." 

752. The last line of each verse is restored, so that instead of 
the constant refrain " O Lord, remember me," we have the refrain 
specially suited to the sentiment of the verse, as Mr. Haweis 
originally wrote it. 

756. The last line of the fourth verse is made to read- — 

" And follow thee where'er thou go," 

instead of 

" And follow where my Lord doth go." 

817, v. 5, "dying" for "saving," and "saving" for "glorious." 

872, v. 3, " stricken " for " gasping." 

895. The last two lines of this hymn now read — 

"Forever be his name adored, 
For there is none beside." 

924. In the third line of the first verse " the " is substituted for 
" my," and the last line of this verse reads as Doddridge originally 
wrote it, "And warble to the silent night." In v. 5 "o'er" takes 
the place of "through," and "thy" the place of " the ;" and in 
the 6th verse " can " is put for " shall." 



30 



926, v. 3 has been restored, so that the verse now reads as 
originally written by Wesley — 

" O would He more of heaven bestow, 

And let the vessel break, 
And let our ransomed spirits go 

To grasp the God we seek." 

937. In v. 2, last line, " ; 'tis" is restored in place of "but." 

In 949 a typographical error is corrected which has stood in our 
book since the last revision, and " woes" is substituted for "joys" 
in the first verse. 

In v. 3, 1. 3, " flow o'er the bright plains," is substituted for 
" bright o'er the plains." 

In v. 4, " where the saints " is put for " there saints," and " while 
the anthems " for " while anthems." 

951, v. 2— , 

" Not all the archangels can tell," 

for 

"But angels themselves cannot tell." 

952, "And take our souls to heaven," for "us up to heaven." 

953, In the third verse, "eternity's near" for "eternity's here;" 
in v. 4, 1. 1, " our " for " the/' 

957. The last verse is restored, and greatly improved by the 
restoration. It now reads — 

" O that we now might grasp our Guide ; 

O that the word were given ; 
Come, Lord of hosts, the waves divide, 

And land us all in heaven." 

962. This hymn is very much changed throughout. The text, 
as we have adopted it, answers to that in the new Wesleyan Hymn 
Book, except that we have omitted the fourth verse in that book. 
It is as follows : — 

" This stone to thee in faith we lay ; 

To thee this temple, Lord, we build ; 
Thy power and goodness here display, 

And be it with thy presence filled. 



3i 



Here, when thy people seek thy face, 

And dying sinners pray to live, 
Hear thou in heaven, thy dwelling-place, 

And when thou hearest, Lord, forgive ! 

Here, when thy messengers proclaim 

The blessed gospel of thy Son, 
Still, by the power of his great name, 

Be mighty deeds and wonders done. 

But will indeed Jehovah deign 

Here to abide, no transient guest ? 
Here will the world's Redeemer reign ? 

And here the Holy Spirit rest ? 

Thy glory never hence depart ; 

Yet choose not, Lord, this house alone ; 
Thy kingdom come to every heart ; 

In every bosom fix thy throne ! " 

964, v. 2. The last two lines are changed so as to read — 

" Here may thy word melodious sound 
And spread celestial joys around." 

In the fourth verse we substitute " seraphim " for "the redeemed." 
970. We have restored the last line of the first verse — 
" And heaved its pillars one by one." 

997, v. I, "O bid the" for "Bid the bright," and in the fourth 
line " O " for " And," and " heathen " for " nations." The second 
verse is made to read — 

" Set up thy throne where Satan reigns, 
In western wilds and eastern plains ; 
Far let the gospel's sound be known ; 
Make thou the universe thine own." 

In the third verse we have put " dispel " for " scatter," and " bid 
every nation " for " and bid all nations." 

1023. We have restored the fifth verse so as to read — 

" Here in thy house let incense rise 
And ; circling Sabbaths bless our eyes ; 
Till to those lofty heights we soar 
Where days and years revolve no more." 



32 

1026. We substitute " laugh" for " smile," "joyful" for " purest," 
"comely " for "duty," and " one" for "sweet." 

1034, v. r, "a throne of radiant light" for "a throne of light, O 
Lord," in the first line ; " my " for " our," in the third, and " when 
all the worlds are thine," is the reading of the fourth. In the 
second verse " the partners " for " partakers," and instead of the 
third line, as in the former collection, we have — " And wilt confess 
their humble name." There are also some minor changes in the 
third verse. 

1045. I n tne second verse "tossed" for "rocked;" in the third 
" wild " for " sad," and " arise in thy strength " for " then send 
down thy grace." 

1047, v. 2, "years" for "nights," and "night" for "hour." 

1090, v. 1, "ended" for "ending," and "attended" for "at- 
tending." 

1095, v. 3, "life shall" for "earth may." 
1097, v. 2. "unkindly" for "untimely." 

mi, v. 4. The text and the order of the lines are so changed 
that the last three lines read — 

" Claim the kingdom for thine own : 

Jah Jehovah, 
Everlasting king, come down." 

Such is a list of the leading textual changes which we have 
decided to make. We are aware that many of them seem slight, 
and perhaps trivial, but we think that none of them will be found 
without significance or value. Certain are we that these changes 
are in the general direction of purity and harmony, a7id not of 
corruption and consequent confusion. 

We have not, however, maintained the principle of invariable 
restoration. Some changes are improvements so clearly recognized 
and so universally adopted that to restore the original text would 
produce only disappointment and confusion. Perhaps it may not 
be improper to mention, by way of illustration, some of the many 
cases in point. 



33 

In 16 Watts wrote, as the opening lines of that portion of the 
hymn which we use — 

" Nations attend before his throne 
With solemn fear, with sacred joy." 

Instead of which we retain the grand lines substituted by John 
Wesley, thus making the hymn a visible link, uniting these dear 
and honored names — 

" Before Jehovah's awful throne 
Ye nations bow with sacred joy." 

The first lines of 148, as originally written by Watts, were— 

" He dies ! the heavenly lover dies ! 

The tidings strike a doleful sound . 
On my poor heart-strings ! deep he lies 

In the cold caverns of the ground." 

How would such a restoration as this shock and grieve our 
people ! 

In 251 Doddridge wrote as the last line of the second verse — 
"With ardent pangs of strong desire." 
Instead of which we keep the better line — 

" With ardent hope and strong desire." 
In 324 Cowper wrote as the first lines of verse four — 

" I see, or think I see, 
A glimmering from afar." 

But we retain the altered lines — 

"With trembling hope I see 
A glimmering from afar." 

In 566, as originally written by Wesley, the last two lines of the 
fourth verse were — 

" My heart no longer gives the lie 
To my deceitful prayer." 

We keep the substituted lines, which, though weaker, are yet 
better suited for the place they occupy at the close of the hymn — 

" If thou my nature sanctify- 
In answer to my prayer." 



34 

In that mucn-used hymn, 734, Watts closed the fifth verse — 

" They see the triumph from afar, 
And seize it with their eye." 

We keep the changed line — 

" By faith they bring it nigh." 

In the second verse of 853, instead of the original lines — 

" The little ants for one poor grain 
Labor and tug and strive." 

we keep the changed reading — 

" Go to the ants ! for one poor grain 
See how they toil and strive." 

And in the fifth verse, instead of the lines which Watts wrote — 

" Come, holy Dove, from the heavenly hills 
And sit and warm our hearts." 

we retain the more expressive emendation of the last line — 

" And warm our frozen hearts." 

The first four lines of verse 2, hymn 900, in the original of 
Watts were — 

" The God that rules on high 

And thunders when he please, 
That rides upon the stormy sky 

And manages the seas." 

Of course we have not gone back to these from the far superior 
lines which had superseded them — 

" The God that rules on high, 

That all the earth surveys, 
That rides upon the stormy sky, 

And calms the roaring seas." 

Illustrations of this character, which are at hand in considerable 
number, vindicate the propriety of sometimes changing the 
phraseology in hymns intended for public worship. In many 
instances, doubtless, the altered phraseology would be approved 
by none more heartily than by the authors themselves, could they 



35 

make their decision in the presence of the uses to which the 
hymns have come. Only wanton and capricious changes are to 
be unqualifiedly condemned. The principle by which we have 
sought to be guided has been to restore when the change could 
not give a reasonable account of its own existence, and when 
restoration would evidently tend to harmony rather than discord 
in the praises of the Church. 

In some cases the question has been not between the original 
and an altered text already well established, but we have been 
asked to depart from the text of the old book even when that text 
was, beyond all question, the original. As an instance in point we 
may mention 178. A very urgent request came to the committee 
that the word " Galilean," in the second line of verse first, might be 
substituted by " everlasting." On investigating to determine whether 
this substitution should be made, we found the following state of 
facts : — 1. Beyond reasonable doubt the word "Galilean" is the 
original. 2. In the standard Methodist Hymn Books now in use, 
such, for example, as that of the Wesleyans of Great Britain, of the 
United Methodist Free Churches of Great Britain, the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 
the word Galilean, stands as in the original. 3. In all the standard 
hymnals of other denominations in which the hymn is found at all 
the same reading is retained. As examples of these we may 
mention the following denominational hymnals respectively : 
Of the Baptist denomination in England, of the Presbyterian 
denomination in England, of the Congregational Union of England 
and Wales, of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United 
States of America, and the Reformed Church in America. 4. The 
same is true as to many collections which have not received the 
seal of denominational authority, but have, nevertheless, been very 
widely circulated. Some of these hymn books have been edited 
with special care by scholars of eminent reputation. As an 
example we would specify " Hymns and Songs of Praise," edited 
by Drs. Hitchcock, Eddy, and Philip Schaff, where this reading is 
also found. 5. In no widely-circulated hymn book in the English 



36 

language do we find the reading "everlasting," and this notwith- 
standing the fact that for many years it held a place in the 
standard hymn book of the great Methodist denomination in this 
country. The unanimity with which this alteration has been 
repudiated is extraordinary and significant. In the # presence of 
such an array of facts as this, to say nothing of considerations 
coming out of the hymn itself, the Committee felt that they would 
not be justified in making the change proposed, and that to do so 
would involve the surrender of every principle on which the 
revision of hymn texts should be conducted. 

We have cited this case not because of its paramount import- 
ance, but to illustrate our work and the character of some of the 
demands which have been made upon us. The Committee have 
been plied with requests to originate changes in the texts of our 
hymns — even the most celebrated and classical of them. 

" There is a fountain filled with blood ; " 
" Alas, and did my Saviour bleed ; " 
" Love divine, all love excelling ; " 
" Rock of ages, cleft for me ; " 

are examples of hymns which we have been asked to mar or 
mutilate by introducing readings not found in any hymnal in 
Christendom, and thus, by so much, to throw our people out of 
adjustment with the wider Christian public. As we have not felt 
at liberty to thrust our own conceits and preferences into the text, 
so we have not lent ourselves to others for the same purpose. 

Two types of that very popular hymn, " Rock of ages," are in 
common use ; one, of four verses, but slightly altered from the 
original, is commonly met with outside of Methodism, and the 
other, of three verses, is in universal use among Methodists the 
world over. This we have retained, believing it to be true to the 
spirit of the original, and as faithful a transcript of the author's 
thought, besides being stronger and more perfect as a hymn. The 
fact, too, that it is so well known and so much used among our 
people would stand in the way of a change, even were it desirable 



37 

But we are clear in the conviction that in preserving the hymn 
unaltered we not only preserve our own internal harmony in this 
matter, but we keep the best form of the hymn. 

Changes of Arrangement, Either of Hymns or Verses. 

We have made other modifications of the old hymns by a new 
arrangement of the verses, by bringing together dissevered parts 
of the same hymn, by the omission of verses- which were judged 
not necessary to the usefulness of the hymn, and by restoring 
verses which had been omitted ; and these, though less funda- 
mental than changes in the words of the text, may yet affect even 
more sensibly the character and value of the collection. The 
following lists include the most important of these : — 

73, 105 have been united in one hymn. 

108, 88 have been united as parts one and two. 

In ix6 the seventh verse is made to follow the fourth. 

To 321 verse third of 322 has been added. 

35°> 353 have been arranged as parts one and two. 

To 355 a verse is added, as in the new Wesleyan Hymn Book. 
It begins — 

"Dead, already dead within." 

In 356 the order of the verses has been restored by causing 
verses one and three to change places. Also these two hymns 
are printed as parts one and two. 

In 376 verse two is omitted, and verse four of 426 is added. 

Of 379 verse three is omitted, and verses one and three of 380 
added. 

416 and 447 are united. 

In 423 the original first verse, commencing— 
" Christ, whose glory fills the skies," 
is restored in the place of verse one of our former collection, thus 
making the hymn conform to the Wesleyan and most other Hymn 
Books. 

To 439 the first verse of 438 is prefixed, and the second verse is 
omitted. 



38 



446 and 722 are united. 

Of 531 the first verse is omitted, and 801 prefixed. 

Of 550 verses four and five are transposed. 

655 and 653 are to form parts one and two. 

693. The lines of verse second are transposed so as to read — 

" Teach us to love each other, Lord, 

As we are loved by thee ; 
None who are truly born of God 

Can live in enmity." 

702, 698 form parts one and two. 

725, 726, 728 form parts one, two, and three. 

To 779 one verse is added, and 779, 780 form parts one and two. 

834. The order of verses two and three is inverted, another 
verse inserted after verse three, and verse four is retained as verse 
five. 

In 835 the fourth verse is placed first, so that the hymn now 
begins — 

" Come, Holy Ghost, all quickening fire." 

861, 614 form parts one and two. 
865, 424, 428, form parts one, two, and three. 
To 890 verses one and two of 891 have been appended. 
Of 918 the fourth verse is placed first, so that the hymn now 
begins — 

"Eternal God, celestial King." 

926, 927, 958, 956, 957 form parts one, two, three, and four. 

Verses one and two of 939, and verse one of 940, are united as 
one hymn. The other verses of both hymns are omitted. 

956, 957, have been .united. 

Of 1059, verses five and six are transposed. 

To 1078 the first and second verses of 1079 have ^ een added. 

The following hymns have been changed by the addition of 
verses. To specify the verses which have been thus added would 
take much space, and is, perhaps, unnecessary. In most cases 
but a single verse has been added to a hymn. 8, 33, 56, 57, 



39 

59, 74> 143. J 56, 181, 212, 235, 238, 423, 446, 454, 475, 505, 515, 
525, 558, 559, 6o s > 779, 790, 813, 834, 838, 942, 948, 984, 1010, 
1064, 1 1 17. 

From the following hymns verses have been omitted : — 24, v. 4 ; 
25, v. 2 ; 40, parts of verses 2 and 3, and whole of v. 6 ; 51, v. 4 ; 
210, v. 3 ; 218, v. 3 and 4 ; 265, v. 2 ; 297, v. 2, and part of 4 and 5 ; 
324, v. 2 ; 332, v. 5 ; 360, v. 3 ; 366, v. 6 ; 376, v. 2, and v. 4 of 426 
added ; 379, v. 3 ; 439, v. 2 ; 465, v. 1, 2 ; 486, v. 5, 6 ; 492, v. 5 ; 
525, v. 2 ; 543, v. 2 ; 546, v. 3, 4 ; 559, v. 4 ; 604, v. 4 ; 656, v. r, 
2, 6 ; 691, v. 2, 3 ; 696, parts of vs. 2, 3 ; 704, v. 5 ; 756, v. 2 ; 768, 
v. 2 ; 784, v. 3 ; 830, v. 2 ; 883, v. 2 ; 909, v. 4, 6 ; 931, v. 3 ; 942, 
v. 3 5 955, v - 2 ; 1068, v. 3 ; 1071, v. 5 ; 1093, v. 5 ; 1096, v. 2 ; 
1 108, v. 3. 

The only changes we have made in the matter of meter have 
been restorations. We found in the old book an unexpectedly 
large number of hymns whose meter had been changed. Thirty- 
three of these we have thrown out ; five, namely, 414, 770, 787, 
807, and 851 we have restored to the original meter; the re- 
mainder we have kept unchanged. 

As an illustration of the effect of such changes as are detailed 
above, we will insert one hymn ; first as it stands in the old book, 
and then as it will stand in the new : — 

Hymn 483 : — 

" O disclose thy lovely face, 

Quicken all my drooping powers, 
Gasps my fainting soul for grace, 

As a thirsty land for showers. 
Hasten, Lord, no more delay ; 
Come, my Saviour, come away. 

Dark and cheerless is the morn, 

Unaccompanied by thee, 
Joyless is the day's return 

Till thy mercy's beams I see., 
Till thou inward life impart, 
Glad my eyes and warm my heart. 



4o 

Visit then this soul of mine, 

Pierce the gloom of sin and grief, 
Fill me, Radiancy divine, 

Scatter all my unbelief. 
More and more thyself display, 
Shining to the perfect day. 

Christ, whose glory fills the skies, 

Christ, the true, the only light, 
Sun of righteousness, arise, 

Triumph o'er the shades of night ; 
Day-spring from on high be near, 
Day-star in my heart appear. 

Dark and cheerless is the morn 

Unaccompanied by thee, 
Joyless is the day's return 

Till thy mercy's beams I see ; 
Till thou inward light impart, 
Glad my eyes and warm my heart. 

Visit, then, this soul of mine, 

Pierce the gloom of sin and grief; 
Fill me, Radiancy divine ; 

Scatter all my unbelief : 
More and more thyself display, 
Shining to the perfect day. 

It is proper to add to this comparison the statement that in 
this second form the hymn is found in many leading hymnals, but 
is very rarely met with in the other form. 

New Hymns. 

A more interesting, and, in some sense, a more important branch 
of our work has been the selection of new hymns. We have rec- 
ognized the fact that one of the main reasons why the former book 
has been subjected to revision was in order that many precious 
hymns which were known to exist, and some of which have come 
into common use, might be brought in to enrich our collection, and 



41 

thus be placed within the reach of our people. But the difficulty 
of selection has been very great. It has been materially enhanced 
by the smallness of the number to which we felt ourselves limited. 
Having done the best we could in pruning our former book, we 
still had left nearly eight hundred hymns, and this was the size of 
our book when we commenced to add new hymns. It has been 
estimated that there are about forty thousand hymns in the En- 
glish language, and of this number we could take not more than 
one in one hundred. Our embarrassment, then, has been largely 
the embarrassment of riches. It would have been a task compara- 
tively easy to select a thousand, for in that number, in addition to 
those we already had, we could have comprehended most of those 
which have obtained general recognition as hymns suitable for 
public worship. But the narrow limits fixed by the conditions of 
our work have forced upon us the necessity of omitting many 
hymns which we desired to insert, and some of them, too, among 
the choicest and most famous in our language. We only hope that 
the absence of some of these may not be felt any more keenly and 
regretfully by others than by ourselves. And if in some cases it 
shall be thought that hymns less excellent have been inserted, let 
it be considered that we have been obliged to ask, not what hymn 
is best in itself, but what hymns are best for us — most certain to 
meet our special needs and to increase our resources of sacred 
song. 

For, as is evident, our need would, to some extent, be modified 
by our present supply. In certain directions it was unlikely that 
our hymnology could be materially enriched. No hymns could be 
more Wesleyan than those of the Wesleys themselves ; none 
could be more truthfully and adequately expressive of that type of 
experience that characterizes Methodism ; and certainly none are 
richer in religious sentiment, more evangelic in spirit, and more 
felicitous in diction and measure. 

Of these hymns of the Wesleys and their coadjutors we already 
had the best, and so there was no need that we should make many 
additions from this source. But there was need of other hymns, 



42 

adapted to the later phases of this great Methodistic movement. 
For our Methodism is not now, as it was at first, struggling for a 
foothold and recognition, or simply carrying the Gospel to the ig- 
norant and degraded ; but it sustains pastoral relations to millions, 
among whom are the prosperous, the cultured, and the influential. 
She preaches the'Gospel in many languages. She has her organ- 
ized charities, her commercial relations, her missionary societies, 
her millions of youth for whose nurture she is responsible, and her 
homes into which she must bring the evangel of a pure theology 
and a symmetrical culture. And as the area of our activities has 
broadened and our necessities have multiplied, our resources of 
sacred song have correspondingly increased. We found waiting 
for our recognition and adoption missionary hymns, Bible hymns, 
hymns for the .home, hymns for the ordinances, hymns for the re- 
forms and charities, new and more musical versions of the ancient 
and medieval hymns, and especially hymns for Christian experience 
and life. The Church has come to feel that wherever there is a 
Christian worker or a Christian worshiper there may be and ought 
to be a Christian hymn. 

To indicate the sources we have drawn upon, and the character 
of the additions we have made, we submit a few statements as to 
hymns and authors. 

The oldest hymn in the Christian Church to which the author 
can be assigned was written by Clement of Alexandria, who died 
about 220 of our era. The only uninspired Christian hymns that 
outrank this in age are the Trisagion, and, possibly, the Gloria in 
Excelsis, neither of which ever took a fully metrical form, but only 
that of measured prose. These hold a place in our communion 
service, in which use of them we agree with the great body of the 
Church in all the Christian centuries. This hymn of Clement has 
been many times translated by eminent scholars, but it has been 
reserved for an American to give it the most pleasant and available 
metrical form. In this version it has been very widely adopted, so 
that it is now found in many of the leading hymnals both of this 
country and Great Britain. Coming as it does from the Ante-Nicene 



43 

age, it antedates all existing divisions of the Church, and so is in 
the highest sense ecumenical. The version we have chosen com- 
mences, 

" Shepherd of tender youth." 

A conspicuous figure in ancient hymnology was Ambrose, the 
famous Bishop of Milan and pastor of Monica, the mother of Au- 
gustine. Though born in the midst of theologic strife, and used at 
first not only as instruments of devotion, but also as weapons 
against heresy, his hymns have had a permanent life, and for fifteen 
centuries have been- counted among the choice hymnic treas- 
ures of the Church. We have taken two of these Ambrosian 
hymns : — 

"Now doth the sun ascend the sky," 
"The morning kindles all the sky." 

Of hymns representing the medieval period of Church history 
we have taken a much larger number. And this not only because 
they exist in larger number, but because some of them are nearer 
to the modern Church in thought and spirit. As compared with 
the ancient hymns, they are less extensive, but more intensive. 
They comprehend less, but express more, and so are more likely to 
be used with loving interest. It is estimated that there were in 
existence when Luther arose about one thousand hymns : from 
this entire number we have selected for our use about twenty-five. 
Some of them are but mere echoes of the older strains : others are 
translations as close as can be made from the poetry of one 
language into that of another. 

One of the most remarkable of these medieval hymns is that 
commencing, 

" O sacred Head now wounded." 

In its present form this hymn is a translation of a translation, and 
hence is, in a special sense, a monument of the unity of the Christian 
Church. Its original author was the great Bernard, of Clairvaux, 
called by Luther " the best monk that ever lived." Its first translator, 
and in some sense co-author, was that prince of German hymnists, 
Paul Gerhardt ; while the translator into English was the dis- 



44 

tinguished American Presbyterian, Dr. J. W. Alexander. In this 
version the hymn is adopted in nearly all English hymnals ; the 
only ones showing any disposition to pass it by being those of the 
so-called liberalistic faith, it being unacceptable to them because of 
the prominence it gives to the death of Christ. Dr. Philip Schaff 
says : " This classical hymn has shown an imperishable vitality 
in passing from the Latin into the German, and from the German 
into the English, and proclaiming in three tongues, and in the 
name of three confessions — the Catholic, the Lutheran, and the 
Reformed — with equal effect, the dying love of our Saviour and our 
boundless indebtedness to him." 

From the same author, Bernard, we have taken four other 
hymns — 

" Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts." 
" Jesus, the very thought of thee." 
" O Jesus, king most wonderful." 
" O Jesus, thou the beauty art." 

There is much of interesting history connected with the hymn 
in our list commencing — * ■ 

" Welcome, happy morning ! age to age shall say." 

It is upward of twelve hundred years old, having been written 
by Venantius Fortunatus, Bishop of Poictiers. It was sung 
by Jerome of Prague at the stake, when dying. Cranmer 
wrote a translation of it, and a letter of his addressed to King 
Henry the Eighth, requesting its formal authorization for public 
use, is still preserved. As a link binding us, not only to the 
distant past, but to the memory of that noble Christian confessor 
whose martyr-flames helped to kindle the fires of the Reformation, 
we believe this hymn will be prized by our people. 

But the great hymns of the medieval Church were "The 
Celestial Country," "The Stabat Mater" and the "Dies Irce ;" 
which have been pronounced, and in the order here set down, the 
most beautiful, the most pathetic, and the most sublime of 
medieval poems. The second of these, though justly celebrated, 
and faithfully and even elegantly translated, we have yet judged 



45 

not suitable for our use, and so have omitted it from our collec- 
tion. Not only is it tinged with Mariolatry, but it is too ex- 
clusively sentimental to be best suited for the purposes of a Chris- 
tian hymn. 

The fragment of Dies Irce, taken from Scott's " Lay of the Last 
Minstrel," which was in our old book, we have retained, though it 
is neither a translation nor an imitation, but rather one of the 
many echoes which this remarkable hymn has awakened in the 
literature of the world. It is, however, faithful to the spirit of the 
original, and a hymn of remarkable power. The hold which it had 
on the mind of its eminent author was shown by his frequent 
repetition of it in the delirium of his final illness. From the many 
excellent versions of the original Dies Irce accessible to the 
English reader, we have chosen that of Dean Stanley, as being not 
only faithful as a translation, but more perfect in meter than most 
others, and so more easily set to music. The opening line of this 
version is : — 

"Day of wrath, O dreadful day." 

From the same general period — the thirteenth century— dates 
that more joyous but less famous counterpart of the Dies Ires 
known as the Dies Ilia. This we have also adopted in Mrs. 
Charles' excellent version — 

" Lo the day, the day of life." 

Four hymns have been made from Dr. John Mason Neale's 
translation of "The Celestial Country," and have been arranged to 
follow each other, but not as parts one, two, three, four, for the 
reason that even these are but a small part of the original poem. 
Each of these closes with the same solemn refrain and prayer, 
and though of the same meter, they are intended to be set to 
different music, so that they may together yield the mingled 
charm of variety and harmony. We confidently expect that these 
hymns, which come down to us through seven centuries of Chris- 
tian history, will prove special favorites with our people. The first 
lines in order are : — 



46 



" The world is very evil." 
" Brief life is here our portion." 
" For thee, O dear, dear country." 
" Jerusalem, the golden." 

One of the most venerable and best known of the medieval 
hymns is the Veni, Creator Spiritus, popularly ascribed to Charle- 
magne, but by others, and with better reason, to Gregory the 
Great. It is, consequently, not less than twelve hundred years old. 
No uninspired hymn has been appropriated to more dignified uses 
or held a more prominent place in ecclesiastical ceremonies. It 
has been used at the creation of popes, the coronation of kings, 
the consecration of bishops, the ordination of presbyters, the cele- 
bration of Pentecost, as well as in the ordinary services of worship. 
After the Reformation it was one of the first hymns translated 
into both the German and English languages, and has, doubtless, 
in these versions, come to its best and most spiritual uses. An 
English version, by Bishop Cosin, was introduced into the book 
of Common Prayer of the Church of England in 1662 ; and later, 
into the Methodist Discipline, the ordinal of which was taken sub- 
stantially from the English Prayer Book. Though the hymn has 
thus held a place in our Discipline, it has not hitherto been in our 
Hymn Book. We have inserted this old version, and also a more 
modern one, which, on account of its more regular meter, may be 
more available for ordinary use. The first lines of these versions 
are: — 

" Come, Holy Ghost, our hearts inspire." 
" O come, Creator Spirit blest. " 

Other medieval hymns in our list are : — 

" Come, Holy Ghost, in love." 

" Blest Spirit, one with God above." 

" O wondrous type, O vision fair." 

"The day of resurrection." 

" O Christ, our King, Creator, Lord." 

" We sinners, Lord, with earnest heart." 

" Let us keep steadfast guard." 

" O happy band of pilgrims." 



47 



" O Thou pure light of souls that love." 
" At the Lamb's high feast we sing." 
" O Bread to pilgrims given." 
" Christ is made the sure foundation." 
" The year is gone beyond recall." 

We have selected a few additional hymns, representing the 
eminent English hymnists of the last century, most of whose 
names are already familiar in our standard Hymn Book. 

From Doddridge : — 

"Awake, ye saints, and raise your eyes." 
"How gentle God's commands." 
" Ye golden lamps of heaven, farewell." 
" Rich are the joys that cannot die." 

From John Newton : — 

" Amazing grace, how sweet the sound." 
"Day of judgment, day of wonders." 
" Safely through another week." 
" In evil long I took delight. 

It is doubtful if any single hymn Mr. Newton has ever written 
more truly represents him than this last. It is his spiritual 
autobiography, and, being the history of its author, it is also the 
history of every other lost sinner who has looked to Christ and 
lived. 

From William Cowper :— - 

" My Lord, how full of sweet content." 
" Sometimes a light surprises." 

The first of the above hymns from Cowper derives some ad- 
ditional value from the fact that it is a translation from the well- 
known mystic Madame Guion. 

Watts is more fully represented by some additional hymns. 
Some of these are so universally familiar that it will scarcely be 
believed without examination that they were not in our old book : 

" God is the refuge of his saints." 

" Kingdoms and thrones to God belong." 

" Joy to the world ! the Lord is come." 



4 8 



" Lo, what a glorious sight appears." 

" My soul, repeat his praise." 

" Not to the terrors of the Lord." 

" The heavens declare thy glory, Lord." 

" What shall I render to my God ? " 

" What sinners value I resign." 

From John Milton : — 

" Let us with a gladsome mind." 

" The Lord will come, and not be slow." 

" How lovely are thy dwellings, Lord." 

From Richard Baxter : — 

" Lord, it belongs not to my care." 

Our former collection contained a little less than six hundred 
hymns from the pen of Charles Wesley — just about one half of 
the entire number. Some of these, for various reasons, have been 
thrown out, but we have also introduced several new hymns from 
this unequaled hymnist : — 

" Come, thou long-expected Jesus." 
" Captain of our salvation, take." 
" Granted is the Saviour's prayer." 
"Gracious soul, to whom are given." 
" Son of the carpenter, receive." 
" Still out of the deepest abyss." 

The only contemporary of Charles Wesley who now contests 
with him the palm of popularity as to a single hymn, was he who 
became such a bitter theological opponent of the Wesleys — 
Augustus M. Toplady. Though it is hard to say that any one 
hymn is intrinsically more excellent than all others, yet there is 
little doubt that popular suffrage places " Rock of ages " in the 
first rank of Christian hymns. Though originally written with a 
controversial intent, and made to bear a controversial title, to 
indicate the author's disgust with the Wesleyan doctrine of sancti- 
fication, yet Methodists at once took up the hymn, and have been 
singing it ever since, not doubting that they find in it a perfect 



49 

harmony with the hymns of Wesley. From this same Mr. Top- 
lady we have taken one more hymn, very old and familiar : — 
" Your harps, ye trembling saints." 

A few of the best hymns in the old book were from Thomas 
Kelly, a man of superior learning and earnest piety, who was 
driven from the Established Church by the same influences that 
made the Wesleys practically Dissenters. His life as a hymn- 
writer extended over nearly sixty years, and "we have made some 
additional selections from him — 

" Come, ye saints, look here and wonder." 
" On the mountain tops appearing." 
" We sing the praise of Him who died." 
" Look, ye saints, the sight is glorious." 

Josiah Conder was born just twenty years later than Mr. Kelly, 
but died the same year, (1855,) the one at the age of eighty-six, 
and the other, sixty-six. Few men of the last generation labored 
with greater zeal or effect to improve and enrich English psalmody. 
We have added two more hymns from his pen — 

" The Lord is king, lift up thy voice." 
"Many centuries have fled.'' 

We have taken three additional hymns from Bishop Heber, 
which will be recognized by the people as old and familiar 
acquaintances, one of them being one of the most perfect echoes 
of the song of the cherubim as heard by Isaiah in the whole 
range of hymnology : — 

" Thou art gone to the grave, but we will not deplore thee." 
" Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty." 
" Hosanna to the living Lord." 

From Bishop Mant : — 

" Round the Lord in glory seated." 

From Edmeston : — 

" Sweet is the light of Sabbath eve." 
" Little travelers Zionward." 

4 



50 

From Beddome : — 

" Prayer is the breath of God in man." 
" Witness, ye men and angels, now." 
" Come, Holy Spirit, come." 

From Bowring : — 

" Upon the Gospel's sacred page." 
" Earth's transitory things decay." 
" God is love, his mercy brightens." 
" In the cross of Christ I glory." 

From Keble : — 

" Lord, in thy name thy servants plead." 
" New every morning is the love." 
" Sun of my soul, thou Saviour dear." 

From Montgomery : — 

" Go to dark Gethsemane." 

" Come at the morning hour." 

" Come in, thou blessed of the Lord." 

" Rest from thy labor rest." 

From Stennett : — 

" Majestic sweetness sits enthroned." 

From Gurney : — 

" Lord, as to thy dear cross we flee." 

" Great King of nations, hear our prayer." 

From Ellerton : — 

" This is the day of light." 

" Behold us, Lord, a little space." 

" Saviour, again to thy dear name we raise." 

From Cennick : — 

" Thou dear Redeemer, dying Lamb." 

From Medley : — 

** O could I speak the matchless worth." 

From W. M. Bunting : — 

" Rites cannot change the heart." 



• 



5i 

From S. Wesley : — 

" What shall I render to my God ? " 
From H. K. White 

" When marshaled on the nightly plain." 

From Crabbe : — 

" Pilgrim, burdened with thy sin." 
From Raffles : — 

" High in yonder realm of light." 

" Blest hour when mortal man retires." 

From R. Campbell : — 

" They come, God's messengers of love." 
From Andrew Reed : — 

" Spirit divine, attend our prayer." 

41 Hear, O sinner, mercy hails you." 

" Holy Ghost, with light divine." 

From Sir Robert Grant : — 

. " O worship the King, all-glorious above." 
" The starry firmament on high." 
From James Allen : — 

Sweet the moments rich in blessing." 

Most of the names already mentioned . are familiar in the older 
hymnals, though the lives of some of the authors in the above list 
came down into the present generation. But there are many 
hymnists of later date represented in our collection. Indeed, we 
trust one valuable feature will be found in the introduction of 
material comparatively fresh, and such as partakes most fully of 
the spirit and genius of the modern Church. 

From Midland, Whiting, and Tuttiet, who were all born in the 
year which closed the first quarter of the present century, we have 
taken the following hymns respectively : — 

" All things are ready come.'' 
"Eternal Father, strong to save." 
u Go forward, Christian soldier." 



52 

From Ganse : — 

" jesus, one word from thee." 

" Thou who like the wind dost come." 

From Sir E. Denny : — 

" Jesus wept ! those tears are over." 

" Light of the lonely pilgrim's heart." 

" What grace, O Lord, and beauty shone." 

From W. W. How : — 

" Lord Jesus, when we stand afar." 

« We give thee but thine own." 
From Bullock: — 

" In grief and fear to thee, O Lord." 

From B. Gough : — 

" Jesus, full of love divine." 

From Lloyd : — 

11 My times are in thy hand." 

From Denham : — 

" Mid scenes of confusion and creature complaints." 
From Williams : — 

" O'er the gloomy hills of darkness." 
From John Gambold: — 

" O tell me no more of this world's vain store." 
From Walford : — 

" Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer." 
From E. H. Plumptre : — 

" Thine arm, O Lord, in days of old." 
From Kempthorne: — 

" Praise the Lord, ye heavens, adore him." 
From Bickersteth : — 

" Till he come, O let the words." 
From J. M. Neale : — 

"O Lord of hosts, whose glory fills." 
But the great contribution which Mr. Neale has made to the 



\ 



53 



hymnology of the modern Church has been in the faithful and 
loving study he has devoted to the hymns of the ancient and 
medieval Church, and the many metrical versions he has furnished 
of the best of them. He is more eminent as a translator than as 
an author, and it is in this character he is mainly represented in 
our collection. In making mention, therefore, of this one original 
hymn of Mr. Neale, it is proper to do so bearing in mind the many 
excellent translations, as, for instance, of" The Celestial Country," by 
which he is represented in our list. 

From G. Robinson : — 

" One sole baptismal sign." 

From S. Baring-Gould: — 

" Onward, Christian soldiers." 

From J. King: — 

" When His salvation bringing." 

From Chorley : — 

" God the all-terrible, thou who ordainest." 

From E. Mote :— 

** My hope is built on nothing less." 

From Rawson : — 

" By Christ redeemed, in Christ restored." 
" And will the mighty God." 

From Cawood : — 

" Almighty God, thy word is cast." 

From Irons : — 

" Sing with all the sons of glory." 
"Father of love, our guide and friend." 

From Dix : — 

" As with gladness men of old." 

From Tennyson : — 

« Late, late, so late, and dark the night, and chill." 



54 



From Sir H. W. Baker : — 

"On this day, the first of days." 
"How welcome was the (Tall." 
" O what if we are Christ's." 
" O praise our God to-day." 
" O God of love, O king of peace." 

That man of the present generation from whom we have taken 
a greater number of hymns than from any other recent writer, is 
Dr. Horatius Bonar, of Scotland. Though his hymns are in no 
way remarkable for beauty or strength of diction or wealth of 
poetic sentiment, yet their simplicity and eminently scriptural and 
evangelical tone fits them admirably for popular use. The follow- 
ing are from him : — 

" A few more years shall roll." 

"Go labor on, spend and be spent." 

" I heard the voice of Jesus say." 

" I lay my sins on Jesus." 

" I was a wandering sheep." 

" Make haste, O man, to live." 

" Now in parting, Father, bless us," 

" Rest for the toiling 1 hand." 

" Still one in life and one in deatn." 

" Thy way, not mine, O Lord." 

" What a friend we have in Jesus." 

Among the best of living hymnists is the Rev. J. S. B. Monsell, 
who was at one time the examining chaplain of the distinguished 
Mant, one of whose hymns is on our list. Mr. Monsell's hymns 
are characterized by unusual delicacy of feeling and felicity of 
diction. The following are from his pen : — 

" Laboring and heavy laden." 

" Lord of the living harvest." 

" O Love divine and tender." 

" Sing to the Lord of harvest." 

" O'er the distant mountains breaking." 

" My head is low, my heart is sad." 

" O my God, how thy salvation." 

" Awake, glad soul, awake, awake." 



55 

Few men in recent times have made more material contributions 
to English hymnology than the Rev. Henry Francis Lyte. From 
him we have taken : — 

"Jesus, I my cross have taken." 

" There is a safe and secret place." 

" Praise the Lord, his glories show." 

" Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven." 

" The leaves around me falling." 

" My spirit on thy care." 

" Abide with me, fast falls the eventide." 

The first of these hymns has been used for more than a quarter 
of a century, and is universally familiar. We are glad to place in 
our standard Hymn Book this silent but eloquent witness to a 
fervent and devoted type of piety in that branch of the Church 
which is, perhaps, too often thought of as held in the icy fetters of 
formalism. The last of the hymns mentioned above was handed 
by Mr. Lyte to a friend on the evening of the last Sabbath which 
he was permitted to spend with his devoted flock, when the 
darkness of the final separation from his people and his home was 
already settling down upon him. When this hymn is placed in 
its appropriate setting of personal history, and is interpreted 
through the personal experiences of its author, it is unsurpassed in 
tenderness, beauty, and spiritual suggestiveness. May its influence 
be such upon our people that when, one after another, they shall 
come to that experience of earthly sorrow and desolation which is 
here so graphically described, they may also know the joy and 
inspiration of the same personal love and all-conquering faith in 
the divine Christ ! 

It is a matter of great satisfaction to be able to connect with 
our standard Hymn Book the names of Christian scholars of recog- 
nized eminence in their special departments of investigation. We 
cannot be insensible to the fact that one important element of 
value in a hymn is the personal and subjective element. We would 
not, indeed, reject a hymn simply because of the character of its 
author, yet we cannot be indifferent to the fact of a connection 



5 6 



most intimate between the author and the hymn. Among biblical 
scholars few names are so familiar, or so deservedly eminent, as 
that of Dean Henry Alford. His distinguished scholarship and 
his broad catholicity alike commend him to all who love the Lord 
Jesus Christ in sincerity. He is represented in our collection 
by the following : — 

" Come, ye thankful people, come." 

" Forward be our watchword." 

" Ten thousand times ten thousand." 

" Forth to the land of promise bound." 

From Dean Arthur P. Stanley, whose popularity as a writer is 
even more distinguished, we have taken the version of the Dies Ires, 
and also the hymn commencing — 

" O Master, it is good to be." 

From Bishop Wordsworth, nephew of the great poet, and some- 
what widely known as biblical commentator and a prolific theo- 
logical writer, we take : — 

" O day of rest and gladness." 
" Holy, holy, holy Lord." 

One feature of our collection which we would commend to the at- 
tention of the Church is the very considerable number of hymns of 
German origin which we have inserted. The fact that both of the 
Wesleys drew much of their inspiration from this source, and that 
the hymns of John Wesley in particular are in great measure trans- 
lations of German hymns, is truthfully significant of the importance 
of this department in the hymnology of the Church. No more 
spiritual or thoughtful hymns have ever been written, and none 
more adequately expressive of what is highest and divinest in 
Christian experience, than some of the hymns of Gerhardt, Ters- 
teegen, Arnold, Meinhold, Spitta, and Schmolke. And we have 
thought it not unworthy of consideration that a large number of 
our members are German born, and so will specially appreciate 
forms of thought and speech which are characteristic of the Father- 
land. Some of these German hymns are:— 



57 



" A mighty fortress is our God." _ Luther. 
" Fear not, O little flock, the foe." - FajDricius, from the prose 

of Gustavus Adolphus. 



"Christ, the Lord, is risen again." 


. Weiss. 


" Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates." 


Weissel. 


" We all believe in one true God."_ 


Clausnitzer. 


" Though all the world my choice .deride." 


. Tersteegen. 


" God calling yet ! shall I not hear ? " . 


Tersteegen. 


" Welcome, thou victor in the strife." 


_ Schmolke. 


" My Jesus, as thou wilt." 


Schmolke. 


"Here I can firmly rest." - 


_ Gerhardt. 


" sacred Head now wounded." 


Gerhardt. 


" The precious seed of weeping." _ 


_ Spitta. 


" I know no life divided." 


Spitta. 


" Friend of souls, how blest the time." . 


_ Dessler. 


" Well for him who all things losing." . 


Arnold. 


" I am baptized into thy name.'' _ 


- Rambach. 


" Tender Shepherd, thou hast stilled.". 


Meinhold. 


" Lord Jesus Christ, my life, my light." . 


_ Behemb. 


" We plow the fields and scatter." 


Claudius. 



We have also inserted others which are not so closely transla- 
tions as most of these already specified, but are still echoes of the 
older German hymns, resembling in this respect many of the 
hymns of the Wesleys. 

We are gratified to find that a large number of the hymns we 
have selected are of American origin. Though not selected under 
the influence of this consideration, but solely with a view to their 
merit and their suitableness to our uses, yet on reviewing the 
result we find that about one fifth of the whole number are 
American. We trust this will prove a feature of special value in 
the book, and conduce to its more perfect adaptation to the Church 
for which it is made. 

Specimens of these hymns of American origin are : — 

" Always with us, always with us." ... Nevin. 

"And is there, Lord, a rest?" . Ray Palmer. 

" Eternal Father, thou hast said." ... Ray Palmer. 

"Jesus, these eyes have never seen." . . Ray Palmer. 

" King of kings, and wilt thou deign." _ . . Muhlenberg.. 



. 58 

" Like Noah's weary dove." _ Muhlenberg - . 

"Saviour, who thy flock art feeding - ." . Muhlenberg. 

" How beauteous were the marks divine." . _ Bp. Coxe. 

" In the silent midnight watches." _ Bp. Coxe. 

"O where are kings and empires now?" - _ Bp. Coxe. 

" Saviour, sprinkle many nations." ... Bp. Coxe. 

" It came upon the midnight clear." _ _ Sears. 

" Calm on the listening ear of night." _ Sears. 

" We may not climb the heavenly steeps.'' _ . Whittier. 

" It may not be our lot to wield." _ Whittier. 

"Delay not, delay not, O sinner draw near." _ Hastings. 
" Gently, Lord, O gently lead us." ... Hastings. 

" How tender is thy hand." _ . . . Hastings. 

"Hail to the brightness of Zion's glad morning." . Hastings. 

" God bless our native land." ... Dwight. 

" My country, tis of thee." . . . . S. F. Smith. 

" Softly fades the twilight ray." . _ . S.F.Smith. 

"The morning light is breaking." _ . . S. F. Smith. 

"Behold the western evening light." . . Peabody. 

" Silently the shades of evening." _ . . C. C. Cox. 

"Jesus, I live to thee." . Harbaugh. 

"O Love divine, that stooped to share." . . _ Holmes. 

"Lord of all being, throned afar." ... Holmes. 

" Must Jesus bear the cross alone ? " . _ . Allen. 

" My heavenly home is bright and fair." . - Hunter. 

" Who can forbid our chastened woe? " Hunter. 

"O holy, holy, holy Lord." . Eastburn. 

" O Thou whose filmed and failing eye." - . Thompson. 

" O Love divine, O matchless grace." - . Turney. 

" O turn ye, O turn ye, for why will ye die ? " . Hopkins. 

<; There is no night, in heaven." - Huntington. 

" When time seems short and death is near." - - Bethune. 

" Stand up, stand up for Jesus." - Duffield. 

" The day is past and gone." - . - _ Leland. 

" While o'er the deep thy servants sail." - . Burgess. 
" There is an eye that never sleeps." ... Wallace. 

" There is a land mine eye hath seen." . . _ Robins. 

" The Spirit in our hearts." . Bp. Onderdonk. 

" 'Tis midnight, and on Olives' brow." . . Tappan. 

" Trembling before thine awful throne." . . Hillhouse. 



59 



" When the blind suppliant in the way." 

"When doomed to death, the apostle lay." 

" As shadows cast by cloud and sun." 

" Dear ties of mutual succor bind." 

" O still in accents sweet and strong." 

" Again as evening's shadow falls." 

" Holy Spirit, truth divine." _ 

" I worship thee, O Holy Ghost." 

" The Lord, our God, alone is strong." 

" The chosen three on mountain height." 



O Thou whose own vast temple stands." 



Look from thy sphere of endless day."_ 



Bryant. 
_ Bryant. 

Bryant. 
_ Bryant. 

Bryant. 
. Bryant. 

S. Longfellow. 
. S. Longfellow. 

S. Longfellow. 
_ Warren. 

Winchester. 



_ Ela. 



From one source we have taken hymns which in a special sense 
stand as witnesses of the true spiritual unity of Christ's Church. 
As already intimated, we have sought duly to consider the im- 
portance of the historical element in our hymnology, and so have 
adopted many hymns from the ancient and medieval Church. It 
has seemed to us not unreasonable to expect that that Church 
which has given to the Christian world the most ecumenical book, 
outside of the Bible, " The Imitation of Christ," might also furnish 
hymns that would prove fit companions for such a book. From 
the same source we have selected a few modern hymns, which 
stand as significant witnesses that the Church of Gregory, Bede, 
Anselm, Bernard and a Kempis, is not to-day all a territory of 
death. We have selected hymns from the following, who represent 
the Roman Catholic Church of to-day : — 

From Francis W. Faber : — 



" Faith of our fathers living still." 

" Hark, hark my soul, angelic songs are swelling." 

" My God, how wonderful thou art." 

" O God, thy power is wonderful." 

" O how the thought of God attracts." 

" O it is hard to work for God." 

" O paradise, O paradise." 

"There's a wideness in God's mercy. 1 ' 

" Workman of God, O lose not heart." 



6o 



From John Henry Newman : — 

" Lead, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom." 
" Unveil, O Lord, and on us shine." 

From Matthew Bridges : — 

" My God, accept my heart this day." 
" Rise, glorious conqueror, rise." 
" Crown Him with many crowns." 

It is, perhaps, not improper to recall the fact that each of these 
Catholic hymnists was educated under the influence of Protes- 
tantism, and perhaps this fact may indicate why they were 
specially fitted to mediate between these widely varying forms of 
Christian culture and life. 

An interesting feature of our collection, and one that indicates 
its broadly representative character, is the large number of hymns 
written by female authors. In our list of authors we count about 
a score and a half of women. Some of the hymns written by these 
are among the divinest heart utterances in our language — in the 
broadest sense catholic and spiritual — while of others the aims are 
humbler and the scope, narrower. Especially do we find that 
nearly all the hymns of a lighter character, which we have taken 
because we have judged them to be specially good, and likely to 
have a somewhat permanent life, were written by women. Being 
the product of a quick sympathy and a delicate appreciation of the 
instincts of humanity, they are specially available as a medium of 
popular expression. The following is a list, though not quite 
perfect, of the hymns written by women : — ■ 

From Anne Steele : 

" Father, whate'er of earthly bliss." 

From Anna Letitia Waring : — 

" Father, I know that all my life." 

" Go not far from me, O my strength." 

"In heavenly love abiding." 

" My Saviour, on the word of truth." 



From Mrs. Sigourney : — 

" Go to thy rest, fair child." 
" Laborers of Christ, arise.'' 

From Mrs. Hemans : — ■ 

" Lowly and solemn be." 

•* Calm on the bosom of thy God." 

From Mrs. Bonar : — 

" Fade, fade each earthly joy." 

Mrs. Sarah Flower Adams : — 

" Nearer, my God, to thee." 

Mrs. Barbauld :— 

" Again the Lord of life and light." 
" Praise to God, immortal praise." 

From Charlotte Elliott : — 

"Just as I am, without one plea." 
"My God, my Father, while I stray." 
" With tearful eyes I look around." 
"My God, is any hour so sweet." 

From Mrs. Alexander: — 

" Souls in heathen darkness lying." 

"O Son of God, in glory crowned." 

" When, wounded sore, the stricken soul." 

From Mrs. Charles: — 

" Never further than thy cross." 
From Mrs. Emily Huntington Miller : — 

" I love to hear the story." 

"Enter thy temple, glorious King." 

From Jane E. Leeson : — 

"Gracious Saviour, gentle Shepherd." 
From Mrs. Prentice : — 

" More love, to thee, O Christ." 
From Mrs. Rice : — 

" Wilt thou hear the voice of praise." 



62 

From Miss Kate Hankey: — 

" I love to tell the story." 

From Mrs. Hawks: — 

" I need Thee every hour." 

From Mrs. Luke : — 

" I think, when I read that sweet story of old." 

From Mrs. Codner : — 

" Lord, I hear of showers of blessing." 

From Miss A. Warner : — 

" One more day's work for Jesus." 

From Frances L. Mace : — 

" Only waiting till the shadows. 1 ' 

From Mrs. Anderson : — 

" Our country's voice is pleading." 

From Dorothy A. Thrupp :— 

" Saviour, like a shepherd lead us." 

From Miss M. J. Mason 

" Saviour who died for me." 

From Mrs. A. B. Hyde :— - 

" Say, sinner, hath a voice within." 
From Mrs. Baxter : — 

"Take the name of Jesus with you." 
From Mary F. Maude :— 

" Thine forever, God of love." 
From Mrs. Toke : — 

"Thou art gone up on high." 
From Mrs. Marcy : — 

" Out of the depths to Thee I cry." 
From Mrs. Steele : — 

u Children loud hosannas singing." 



63 



Some names in the above list are of special interest to the 
Christian public. It will be a delight to many to recognize in our 
standard Hymn Book the name of Mrs. Charles, the gifted author 
of the Schonberg-Cotta Family, and other books of like character. 
Her studies in sacred poetry have attracted less attention, and are 
less widely known, but command the respect and admiration of the 
best scholars in this department of literature. Her book, " Voice of 
Christian Life in Song," is one of the choicest of its kind accessible 
to the English reader ; and though her best work in hymnology, 
like Neale, Newman, Chandler, and Caswall, has been in the line 
of translation, yet the single original hymn we introduce will, as 
we think, prove a cherished memorial. 

Another name less famous, but sure to be cherished with an 
affection as sincere and spiritual, is that of Anna Letitia Waring. 
The hymns of this chaste and beautiful hymnist belong to a class 
of which we have too few, and they are among the best of the class. 
" It is not common," wrote Bishop Huntington, in introducing these 
hymns to the American public, " to meet with the expression of a 
more profound, more healthy, more child-like faith, or in more 
chaste, beautiful, and harmonious words, than in some of Miss 
Waring's hymns. As an expression of the Christian life we know 
of nothing in the whole range of English hymnology more devout 
and spiritual than the hymn — 

* Father, I know that all my life.' " 

The name of Anne Steele has been long familiar in the hymnals 
of all the leading Christian denominations, and especially was it 
prominent in our former book, which contained no less than thirty 
hymns from her pen. But the one additional hymn we have 
introduced from her is quite as truly representative as any hymn 
she has ever written. Miss Steele walked all her life long in the 
shadow of permanent invalidism, resulting from an accident in her 
early life. By another sad accident her intended husband was 
drowned but a few hours before the time set for their marriage. 
Another great sorrow came upon her in the loss of her father, 



6 4 

upon whose society and sympathy she had depended more than 
upon any other earthly stay. In the light of such a personal 
history, which is still a representative one, the words of this hymn 
stand out in their true character : — 

1 ' Father, whate'er of earthly bliss 

Thy sovereign will denies, 
Accepted at thy throne of grace 

Let this petition rise. 

" Give me a calm, a thankful heart, 

From every murmur free ; 
The blessings of thy grace impart. 

And make me live to thee. 

" Let the sweet hope that thou art mine 

My life and death attend ; 
Thy presence through my journey shine, 

And crown my journey's end." 

Rev. Dr. Malan, who wrote the French original of the hymn 
translated by Dr. Bethune — 

" It is not death to die," 

was the instrument, under God, of leading the soul of Charlotte 
Elliot into spiritual liberty. That supreme moment in her spiritual 
history is, without doubt, plainly recorded in her best known 
hymn — 

" Just as I am, without one plea." 

In the truest sense is this hymn autobiographic, and is thus 
stamped with a peculiar value. 

It is, perhaps, fitting, though not necessary, to mention the name 
of Sarah Flower Adams which, because of her one well-known 
hymn, has become universally familiar. Like the hymns of Bow- 
ring, Sears, Longfellow, and Mrs. Barbauld, this hymn of Mrs. 
Adams at once overpassed the boundary which is supposed to di- 
vide the Unitarians from Evangelicals, and is doubtless quite as 
acceptable to the latter as the former. We gratefully recognize in 
this hymn an indication that not all of God's spiritual flock are 
found in any human fold. 



65 

The names of Mrs. Hemans and Mrs. Sigourney were both in 
our former book. But it will, we think, give the many admirers of 
Mrs. Hemans new pleasure to find her represented in our new 
book by her most tender and beautiful hymn — 
" Lowly and solemn be." . 

One of the hymns we have added from Mrs. Sigourney comes 
in to increase a very small but much-used class of hymns suited to 
the funerals of children. 

A comparatively new name is that of Mrs. Cecil Frances Alex- 
ander, wife of the Bishop of Derry, and an author of considerable 
celebrity. Her hymns for children have been more widely circu- 
lated than those of any other living writer. Her missionary hymn — 
"Souls in heathen darkness lying," 

will, we think, be found worthy of the high society into which we 
now introduce it. Her prayer to Christ and her statement of his 
merit have that clearness and pathos which is - specially character- 
istic of lyric poetry. We confidently expect that these hymns 
will prove popular in America as in Great Britain. 

The two hymns we add from the pen of Mrs. Barbauld will, we 
think, be welcomed for their own sake and for hers. 

Many familiar names of American women, both of our own and 
other denominations, will be recognized in our list ; but of these it 
is not necessary that we should make individual mention. 

From several quarters requests have come to the Committee for 
the introduction into the new Hymn Book of a few selections from 
the psalms which are in use among the Scotch Presbyterians. It 
has been represented that in some sections of the country it would 
prove a great practical convenience to have in our book a few 
psalms, in the singing of which we could unite with those Chris- 
tians who have deeply-rooted prejudices against the singing of 
ordinary hymns. We have, accordingly, taken advice from those 
best qualified to judge, and have introduced three of these psalms. 
Two of these are little used and known outside of the Churches 
that have been accustomed to use them, but we judge them to be 



66 



not unsuitable for any Church. The clearness and archaic sim- 
plicity of the version will not be ungrateful, even to those who do 
not bear in mind the grand and heroic history of which these are 
in a special sense monumental. But one of these old psalms which 
we have selected is very widely used. So commonly is it intro- 
duced into the hymnals of nearly all Christian denominations that 
it would be a surprise and a disappointment to many were it not 
placed in our list. It was used as the opening hymn at the recent 
Pan-Presbyterian Council in Scotland, as also at the Church Con- 
gress of Episcopalians in Boston in 1876 — facts significantly illus- 
trative of its ecumenical character. For more than three hundred 
years these "strains that once did sweet in Zion glide" have been 
associated with the public services of religion in the English lan- 
guage, and we are sure our book will be thought more perfect that 
it contains this old and precious psalm — 

"All people that on earth do dwell." 

Topical Arrangement, 

An important and laborious part of our work has been the ar- 
rangement of the hymns'. It was evident to us that the service- 
ableness of the book would depend on this, next to the character of 
its contents. Hence we have spared no pains in our endeavor to 
make it the best possible. We were unwilling to stereotype for a 
generation a plan of arrangement that should prove seriously in- 
convenient or defective. 

The book we were set to revise had an excellent plan of division. 
In this regard it was greatly in advance not only of its predecessor, 
but of all other Methodist hymn books. But when we came to 
make a critical examination of it it did not commend itself to us as 
entirely satisfactory. It separated things that belonged together ; 
it did not describe clearly the character of certain classes of hymns ; 
it did not provide for some important classes of hymns ; and, when 
taken as a whole, it did not present, in a complete and orderly array, 
the exercises and "interests involved in Christian worship. Hence 



67 

we decided — reluctantly, for we knew the labor it must involve — to 
recast the entire table of contents ; to strike out a new plan of di- 
vision, and make a new distribution of the old hymns as well as a 
classification of the new. This work we have sought to do with 
great care and thoroughness, and the result we now submit to the 
Church. As a means of comparative judgment we give the plan 
in our old book, and then the plan we have adopted : — 

Plan in Old Book. 

Introduction to Worship. 

The Divine Perfections. 

Jesus Christ. — Incarnation and Birth. 

Sufferings and Death. 

Resurrection and Ascension. 

Priesthood and Intercession. 
The Holy Spirit. 

Institutions of the Gospel.— The Ministry. 

The Church. 
The Sabbath. 
Baptism. 

The Lord's Supper. 
Provisions and Promises of the Gospel. 
The Sinner. — Depravity. 

Awakening. 

Inviting. 

Penitential. 

The Christian Life. — Justification by Faith. 

Adoption and Assurance. 
Sanctification. 
Means OF Grace. — Prayer and Intercession. 

Family Devotion. 
The Closet. 

Reading the Scriptures. 

Christian Fellowship. — Communion of Saints. 

Love-feast. 

Duties and Trials.— /The Warfare. 

Patience and Resignation. 
Steadfastness and Growth in Grace. 



68 



Humiliation. — Unfaithfulness Mourned. 

Backslidings Lamented. 

Rejoicing. — In Deliverance from Trouble. 

In Communion with God. 
In Prospect of Heaven. 

Special Occasions —Erection of Churches. 

Missionary. 

Sunday-schools. 

Miscellaneous. 

Time and Eternity. — Watch Night and New-year. 

Brevity and Uncertainty of Life. 
Death and Resurrection. 
Day of Judgment. 

Close of Worship. 

Plan Adopted for the New Book. 

Worship.— General Hymns. 
Sabbath. 

Morning and Evening, 

God. — Being and Attributes. 
Providence. 

Christ. — Incarnation and Birth. 

Life and Character. 

Sufferings and Death. 

Resurrection, Priesthood and Reign. 
Holy Spirit. 
The Scriptures. 

The Sinner — Lost Condition. 

Provisions of the Gospel. 
Warning and Inviting. 
Repentance. 

The Christian.— Justification, Regeneration, and Adoption. 
Consecration. 

Entire Sanctification and Christian Growtn. 

Unfaithfulness and Backsliding Lamented. 

Christian Activity. 

Trial, Suffering, and Submission. 

Prayer, Praise, and Communion with God. 



6 9 



The Church. — General Hymns. 

Fellowship and Unity. 
The Ministry. 
Ordinances. — Baptism. 

Lord's Supper. 
Church Work. — Erection of Churches. 

For Children and Youth. 
Charities and Reforms. 
Missions. 

Time and Eternity. — Watch Night and New-year. 

Brevity and Uncertainty of Human Life. 
Death and Resurrection. 
Judgment and Retribution. 
Heaven. 

Miscellaneous. — The Seasons. 

National Occasions. 

Marriage. 

Mariners. 

The Hymn and Tune Book. 

It remains for us to report the steps we have taken to set the 
hymns to music to be used in the congregations. By the act of 
the General Conference we were authorized and empowered, but 
not instructed, to prepare a Tune Book. The intention of this we 
understand to have been that, if in the prosecution of our work we 
should conclude that the Hymn Book could not be properly perfected 
unless the Tune Book should be first prepared, or that the new 
hymns should be introduced to the people associated with music, 
or that for any other reason the object had in view in ordering the 
revision of the Hymn Book could not be fully realized until the 
tunes should also be prepared, then it would be our duty to under- 
take the work. All these conditions, in our judgment, existed. The 
numbers and order of the hymns in the two books should be the 
same ; and this required that they should be grouped and set to 
music previous to being numbered. And, then, it seemed to us 
highly desirable that the new hymns should come to our people 



70 

associated with music, as in not a few instances the hymn and the 
tune have become blended into a well-nigh indivisible unity. Di- 
vorced from their music, some of them would be like the wheels in 
Ezekiel's vision without the living spirit by which they moved. 
And, in the general, the demand for a new Tune Book is just as 
clear and positive as for a new Hymn Book, and the latter cannot 
be sent on its mission without the former. 

Under the influence of these considerations we have undertaken 
the work, and are happy to be able to report its successful comple- 
tion. 

It was evident at the outset that the actual labor of preparing 
the book could not advantageously be done in committee of the 
whole. It would be impracticable for so many men, each feeling 
constantly the pressure of his ordinary duties, to spend together in 
continuous work so much time as would be needed for this under- 
taking. And, besides, it would be very expensive, even though 
their services were rendered gratuitously. Hence we committed 
the whole matter to a sub-committee of six, with full power to 
originate and execute such measures as in their judgment would 
conduce to the perfection, of the result. This sub-committee was 
authorized, in conjunction with the Book Agents, to secure the 
services of two competent musicians, who should assist in selecting, 
adapting, and arranging the music, and in editing the work. At 
their nomination the Agents engaged Dr. Eben Tourjee, of Boston, 
and Mr. J. P. Holbrook, of New York, to act as the musical editors. 
Dr. Tourjee, by his thorough study of the subject of sacred music, 
his enthusiastic devotion to the cause of congregational singing, 
his eminence as a musical educator, and his experience as a musical 
editor, stood commended to us as one specially qualified for such a 
work. The qualifications of Mr. Holbrook were equally rare and 
special. He had had a long experience as director of Church 
music in important Churches, both in the East and in the West. He 
was widely and favorably known as a musical composer, many of 
the tunes written or arranged by him having come into very 
general use. He had also had a valuable experience as musical 



7% 

editor, the first thoroughly successful Hymn and Tune Book for 
congregational use in this country having been prepared by him. 

After weeks of thorough and laborious preparation, two members 
of the Committee were detailed, in conjunction with these two 
musical experts, to prepare the first draft of the book. - This was 
submitted first to the sub-committee of six, and then to the full 
Committee for revision and approval. Having thus taken its per- 
fected form, and received the approval of the entire Committee, it 
has been placed in the hands of the Book Agents for publication. 
The book itself, when it is ready for the public, will be the only 
adequate report we can make of its character and contents : in 
advance of this, however, perhaps we may be indulged in a brief 
statement as to its leading features. 

1. Our first aim has been to make the book serviceable. We 
have sought not ideal perfection, but practical utility. Hence we 
have guarded against making it unnecessarily bulky and expensive 
by introducing superfluous music. While just half the space in 
our former book was devoted to music, in this we have limited the 
space for music to about one third. 

2. We have sought to make the actual adaptation of tunes to 
hymns, and not merely to print the music within reach, and then 
leave the particular selection to the choristers. For the chorister 
to practice disregarding or changing the adaptations, is, in our 
judgment, fatal to the success of such a book, and hence in our 
plan we have intended to make them definite, providing, however, 
whenever practicable, for an alternative choice between the old 
tune and one newer and fresher. 

3. We have preserved in the music book the minute topical 
division and arrangement of the hymns, and in doing this have 
solved a more difficult problem than has been attempted in any 
other book which has been given to the American public. To do 
this we have, of course, been obliged to make some sacrifices in the 
matter of adaptation, for these lines of division between the topics 
have, in many instances, kept hymns asunder that we would have 
been glad to put on the same page and set to the same music. 



72 

But, on the other hand, in preserving these divisions in the Tune 
Book we have made it possible to keep them in the Hymn Book, 
and we felt that this must be done. A feature so important to 
the usefulness of the book must not be sacrificed. 

4. We have sought in the general to confine our selections to 
tunes suited for congregational use. We intend the book not for 
the choirs specially and exclusively, but for the people. Tunes so 
difficult that none but trained choirs can sing them, and tunes so 
light and frivolous as not to comport with the seriousness and 
dignity of the public services of religion, we have sought carefully 
to exclude. Any apparent departures from this principle have 
been due to something special in the character of the tune or the 
hymn. An illustration may be found in Tennyson's lines : 

" Late, late, so late, and dark the night, and chill." 

This rule excludes fugues, especially minor fugues, though some 
of these are very intimately associated with certain familiar hymns. 
In view, however, of this association, and the hold which they have 
upon the affections of some of our older people, we have printed 
them in the book, so that they may be used when judged expedient. 

5. We have given the first place in our arrangement to the old 
standard congregational tunes of acknowledged excellence. These, 
like the most ecumenical of the hymns, are a common language 
for Christian worshipers, and no Church can afford to forego 
their inspiring and unifying influence. To omit any considerable 
number of them from a book intended for general use in the con- 
gregations would be to foreordain its failure. Accordingly, such 
tunes as Azmon, Arlington, America, Balerma, Boylston, Corona- 
tion, Dennis, Dundee, Duke-street, Evan, Federal-street, Green- 
ville, Hebron, Hamburg, Lyons, Marlow, Mear, Migdol, Naomi, 
Old Hundred, Olmutz, Rockingham, Pleyel's Hymn, Silver-street, 
State-street, St. Martin's, St. Thomas, Seasons, Talmar, Ward, 
Woodstock, Wooclworth, Uxbridge, Zion, Zephyr, and a large 
number of others equally excellent and familiar, have been inserted, 
and many of them in more than one place. The presence of such 



73 

tunes as these in large number will make the book immediately 
available in all our congregations. 

6. We have also introduced a choice variety of comparatively 
new music from eminent composers of the present generation, both 
American and European. Such authors as Dykes, Barnby, 
Sullivan, Elvey, Monk, Hopkins, Smart, Ewing, as well as some of 
the most eminent professors of sacred music in our own land, are 
here represented by their most celebrated compositions. Such 
tunes as Monkland, Sherborne, Eventide, Hursley, Nicasa, Munich, 
Passion Chorale, Diademata, Lowry, St. Agnes, St. Alban, Jewett, 
Christus Victor, Bernard, Ewing, Alford, Paradise, St. George, 
Refuge, Louvan, Christ Church, Cary, Hollingside, and scores of 
others equally good, will, we are sure, be eagerly taken up by our 
congregations, and many of them will be glad revelations to the 
masses of our people. Indeed, if the quality of the music as an 
aggregate be regarded, we believe that Methodists will have no 
need to blush for their Tune Book, when placed by the side of any 
yet given to the American public. 

7. As we have introduced a few hymns of lighter character, so 
we have taken the tunes usually associated with them. In many 
cases the tune and hymn are virtually one, and to take either 
involves the necessity of taking the other. Though we have 
intended to admit only such of this class as are in themselves 
choice, yet we regard them all as exceptional in a work of this 
class. A few are needed to make the book complete for its 
mission : if the number were large, or even considerable, they 
would be objectionable. Our effort has been to realize the golden 
mean between a collection too rigidly classical and artistic and 
one sensational and ephemeral. 

8. We have inserted in the book a small but very choice collec- 
tion of chants. Most of these are scriptural chants, but we have 
also included ' the oldest prose hymns of the Primitive Church, 
namely, the Gloria Patri, the Trisagion, the Gloria in Excelsis, 
and the Te Dcum Laudamus ; hymns that do not belong exclu- 
sively to any sect or section of the Church, but equally to all who n 



74 

profess and call themselves Christians. We trust that the time 
is near when that grand old hymn, the Gloria in Excelsis, which 
was wont to be sung by the martyrs of the early Church as they 
went on their way to the stake, and which now has a place in 
the communion service, shall be taken up on the lips of all the 
people, instead of being read in their hearing by a single offici- 
ating minister. With a view to certain special needs that are 
likely to arise from time to time in most congregations, we have 
also inserted two or three hymn chants. 

Conclusion, 

Such is a general description of the work done by the Com- 
mittee under the commission received from the Church at the 
hands of the Bishops. We have executed this trust under a 
profound sense of its importance and its sacredness. Allusion 
has already been made to the arduous nature of the task given us to 
perform. It has been the great desire of the Committee to render 
the Hymn Book of the Church, as far as practicable, suited to all 
the varied uses of worship, and thus secure most effectually the 
objects contemplated by the General Conference in providing for 
its revision ; and for the accomplishment of this purpose they 
have spared no necessary expenditure of time and labor. 

While it was expressly provided, and wisely, as we think, that 
no compensation should be allowed to the Committee, except for 
actual expenses incurred, we have been abundantly rewarded, not 
only by the consciousness of having tried to serve the Church, 
but by the character of the work itself ; for though laborious, it 
has also been delightful and elevating. It has kept us in the 
society of the best and purest men and women who have ever 
lived ; and made us acquainted with the most spiritual moods and 
phases of their experience. It has brought us to contemplate the 
divinest heights of human life. It has given us to hear more 
distinctly the harmonies of the invisible world. It has broadened 
our sympathies, strengthened our faith, and quickened our affec- 
tions. And to that one of our number who, at the very conclu- 



75 

sion. of this work, was suddenly called to his reward, these blessed 
associations proved, as we cannot doubt, a fit prelude to those 
upon which he has now entered in his " heavenly home." 

The final meeting of the Committee was held in New York, 
beginning October 24, and ending October 26. The completed 
work, having received the approval of the Bishops, was transferred 
to the Book Agents, to be by them given to the ministers and 
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

It now only remains for us to say, that upon the result of our 
labor we ask the charitable consideration of our brethren, and 
invoke the constant blessing of Almighty God. 

Charles F. Allen, ^William Hunter, 

Jeremiah H. Bayliss, Charles H. Payne, 

John N. Brown, George Prentice, 

James M. Buckley, William Rice, 

Arthur Edwards, Erastus Wentworth, 

Calvin S. Harrington, Richard Wheatley, 

Francis D. Hemenway, Daniel A. Whedon. 
Charles E. Hendrickson, 

New York, October 26, 1877. 

* Dr. Hunter died at his home in Cleveland, Ohio, October 18, 1877. He par- 
ticipated in all the work of the Committee up to its final session, and had, doubtless, 
received his notification for that, when he was most unexpectedly called away from 
his earthly work. We accordingly keep his name in its proper place with the rest of 
the Committee. 



;6 



§£o thf Committee zypointed to revise the ^gmq .§ooh : 

Dear Brethren — 

The Bishops, at their late meeting in Cleveland, Ohio, very 
thoroughly examined the result of the labors of the Committee 
appointed under authority of the last General Conference, to revise 
the Hymn Book of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

1. They went through the entire list of the hymns in the book 
now in use which the Committee has excluded. 

2. They thoughtfully considered every revision made in the 
text of the hymns which the Committee has retained. 

3. They read through carefully, and in many cases repeatedly, 
every new hymn which the Committee has introduced into the 
Revised Hymn Book. 

After the Committee had made a few changes which the 
Bishops suggested, the following resolution was unanimously 
adopted, namely : — 

Resolved, That we have thoroughly examined, with great satisfaction, the 
work of the Committee appointed to revise the Hymn Book. We tender to 
the members of that Committee our thanks ; and believe the gratitude of the 
Church is due these brethren for the labor they have expended, and the 
wisdom, taste, and good judgment they have shown in preparing this most 
excellent book. 

By order, and on behalf, of the Board of Bishops, 

William L. Harris, Secretary. 

New York, June 15, 1877. 



SPECIMEN PAGES, 

WITH LIST OF I3I"N T DI"XC>S AND PRICES, 

OF THE 

HYMNAL 

OF THE 
AND 

HYMNAL 

OF THE 

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 

WITH TUNES. 



Pearl.— Double Column. 



BEING AND ATTRIBUTES. 



3 For thy rich, thy free redemption, 
Bright, though veiled in darkness long, 

Thought is poor, and poor expression ; 

Wno can sing that wondrous song! 
Brightness of the Father's glory ! 

Shall thy praise unuttered lie? 
Break, my tongue, such guilty silence, 

Sing the Lord who came to die : — 

4 From the highest throne of glory, 
To the cross of deepest woe, 

Came to ransom guilty captives : 
Flow, my praise, forever flow ! 

Re-ascend, immortal Saviour; 

Leave thy footstool, take thy throne ; 

Thence return and reign forever ; 
Be the kingdom all thine own ! 

ROBERT ROBINSON. 

149 8,7. 

The wideness of God's mercy. 



There 's a kindness in his justice, 
Which is more than liberty. 

2 There is welcome for the sinner, 
And more graces for the good ; 

There is mercy with the Saviour; 
There is healing in his blood. 

3 For the love of God is broader 
Than the measure of man's mind ; 

And the heart of the Eternal 
Is most wonderfully kind. 

4 If our love were but more simple, 
We should take him at his word ; 

And our lives would be all sunshine ' 
In the sweetness of our Lord. 

FREDERICK W. FABER. 

loO 8,7. 

Uncharging wisdom and love. 
/~1 OD is love ; his mercy brightens 
^-^ All the path in which we rove ; 
Bliss he wakes and woe he lightens ; 
God is wisdom, God is love. 

2 Chance and change are busy ever ; 
Man decays, and ages move ; 

But his mercy waneth never ; 
God is wisdom, God is love. 

3 E'en the hour that darkest seemeth, 
Will his changeless goodness prove ; 

From the gloom his brightness streameth, 
God is wisdom, God ii love. 

4 He with earthly cares entwineth 
Hope and comfort from above ; 

Every- where his glory shineth; 
God is wisdom, God is love. 

SIR JOHN BOWRING. 



THE Lord our God is clothed with might, 
The winds obey his will ; 
He speaks, and in his heavenly height 
The rolling sun stands still. 



2 Rebel, ye waves, and o'er the land 
With threatening aspect roar ; 

The Lord uplifts his awful hand, 
And chains you to the shore. 

3 Ye winds of night, your torce coinDinc ; 
Without his high behest, 

Ye shall not, in the mountain pine, 
Disturb the sparrow's nest. 

4 His voice sublime is heard afar ; 
In distant peals it dies ; 

He yokes the whirlwind to his car, 
And sweeps the howling skies. 

5 Ye sons of earth, in reverence bend ; 
Ye nations, wait his nod ; 

And bid the choral song ascend 
To celebrate our God. 



H. KIEKE WHITE. 



153 



The Lord is King. 

THE Lord descended from above. 
And bowed the heavens most nigh, 
And underneath his feet he cast 
The darkness of the sky. 

2 On cherubim and seraphim 
Full royally he rode, 

And on the wings of mighty winds 
Came flying all abroad. 

3 He sat serene upon the floods, 
Their fury to restrain ; 

And he, as sovereign Lord and King, 
For evermore shall reign. 

4 Give glory to his awful name, 
And honor him alone ; 

Give worship to his majesty 
Upon his holy throne. 

THOMAS STERNHOLD. 



C. M. 



That fill the worlds above ; 
Praise him who formed you of his fires, 
And feeds you with his love. 

2 Shine to his praise, ye crvstal skies, 
The floor of his abode ; 

Or veil in shades your thousand eyes 
Before your brighter God. 

3 Thou restless globe of golden light, 
Whose beams create our days, 

Join with the silver queen of night, 
To own your borrowed rays. 

4 Thunder and hail, and fire and storms, 
The troops of his command, 

Appear in all your dreadful forms, 
And speak his awful hand. 

5 Shout to the Lord, ye surging seas, 
In your eternal roar ; 

Let wave to wave resound his praise, 
And shore reply to shore. 

6 Thus while the meaner creatures sing, 
Ye mortals, catch the sound ; 

Echo the glories of your King 
Through all the nations round. 

ISAAC WATTS. 



BINDINGS AND PRICES- 

Cloth flexible, - - - - $0 40 I Morocco, extra, gilt edges, - - $2 00 
Cloth, boards, red edges - 50 1 Morocco, extra, circuit gilt edges, 3 00 



i 



24mo. 



WORSHIP. 

H3 Evening meditation. ^- 
T^HE day is past and gone, 

The evening shades appear ; 
may we all remember well 
The night of death draws neaf . 

2 "We lay our garments hy, 
Upon our beds to rest ; 

So death will soon disrobe us all 
Of what we've here possessed. 

3 Lord, keep us safe this night, 
Secure from all our fears ; 

May angels guard us while we sleep, 
Till morning light appears. 

4 And when we early rise, 
And view the unwearied sun, 

May Ave set out to win the prize, 
And after glory run. 

5 And when our days are past, 
And we from time remove, 

O may we in thy bosom rest, 
The bosom of thy love. 

JOHN LILAXD. 

114r Protection invoked. 0. M. 
TN mercy, Lord, remember me, 

Through all the hours of night, 
And grant to me most graciously 
The safeguard of thy might. 

2 With cheerful heart I close mine eyes, 
Since thou wilt not remove ; 

O in the morning let me rise 
Eejoicing in thy love. 

3 Or if this night should prove my last, 
And end my transient days ; 

Lord, take me to thy promised rest, 
Where I may sing thy praise. 

JOHN F. HEEZOG. 



BINDINGS AND PRICES. 



Cloth, 
Cloth, red 
Roan, embossed, - 
Roan, embossed, gilt 
Morocco, gilt edges 
Morocco, gilt edges and clasp, 
Morocco, extra, - 



$0 50 
65 
75 
1 00 
1 50 

1 75 

2 00 



Morocco, extra, gilt clasp, - - $2 25 
Morocco, extra, antique - - 2 00 
Morocco, extra, antique, gilt clasp, 2 25 
Calf flexible - - - - 2 00 
Silk velvet, with border and clasp, 

superfine paper, - - - 5 00 



16mo.— With Sections 592-595 of Ritual. 



THE CHRISTIAN. 

2 True pleasures abound in me rapturous sound, 
And whoever hath found it, hath paradise 

found: 

My Redeemer to know, to feel his blood flow, 
This is life everlasting — 'tis heaven below. 

3 Yet onward I haste to the heavenly feast; 
That indeed is the fullness, but this is the taste; 
And this I shall prove, till with joy I remove 
To the heaven of heavens in Jesus's love. 

Charles Wesley. 

T*>8 Worldly vanity renounced. 10,11. 

OTELL me no more of this world's vain 
store, 

The time for such trifles with me now is o'er; 
A country I 've found where true joys abound, 
To dwell I 'm determined on that happy ground. 

2 The souls that believe in paradise live, 
And me in that number will Jesus receive: 
My soul, don't delay; he calls thee away; 
Rise, follow thy Saviour, and bless the glad day. 

3 No mortal doth know what he can bestow, 
What light, strength, and comfort — go after 

him, go; 

Lo, onward I move to a city above, 
None guesses how wondrous my journey will 
prove. 

4 Great spoils I shall win from death, hell, and 

sin, ■ 

'Midst outward afflictions shall feel Christ 
within: 

And when I'm to die, "Receive me," I'll crv, 
For Jesus hath loved me, I cannot tell why: 

5 But this I do find, we two are so joined, 
He'll not live in glory and leave me behind: 
So this is the race T 'm running through grace, 
Henceforth, till admitted to see my Lord's face. 

468 



BINDINGS AND PRICES. 



Cloth, $0 75 

Cloth, Red edges, - 1 00 

Roan, embossed, - - - 1 20 

Roan, embossed, gilt edges, - 1 40 

Morocco, gilt edges, - - 2 25 

Morocco, extra, - 3 00 

Morocco, extra, gilt clasp, - 3 50 



Morocco, antique, extra, - - $3 00 
Morocco, antique, extra, gilt clasp, 3 50 
Morocco, Circuit, - - - 6 00 
Russia, paneled sides, - - 6 00 
Calf flexible. - - • - 3 00 
Silk velvet, - 6 00 



12mo.— With Sections S92-59S of Ritual. 



GOD. 

1 T' 8 A 77 tM/nns i/n ffTiM** S. M. 



All things in Christ. 

THOU very-present Aid 
In suffering and distress, 
The mind which still on thee is staved, 
Is kept in perfect peace. 

2 The soul by faith reclined 
On the Redeemer's breast, 

'Mid raging storms, exults to find 
An everlasting rest. 

3 Sorrow and fear are gone, 
Whene'er thy face appears; 

It stills the sighing orphan's moan, 
And dries the widow's tears. 

4 It hallows every cross; 
It sweetly comforts me; 

Makes me forget my every loss, 
And find my all in thee. 

5 Jesns, to whom I fly, 
Doth all my wishes fill; 

"What though created streams are dry? 
I have the fountain still. 

6 Stripped of each earthly friend, 
I find them all in one; 

And peace and joy which never end, 
And heaven, in Christ alone. 

Charles Wesley. 

179 TUUrln^M. 1L 

THE Lord is my Shepherd, no want shall I 
know; 

I feed in green pastures, safe-folded I rest ; 
He leadeth my soul where the still waters flow, 
Restores me when wandering, redeems when 
oppressed. 

2 Through the valley and shadow of death 
though I stray, 

Since thou art my guardian, no evil I fear; 
Thy rod shall defend me, thy staff be my stay ; 

No harm can befall, with my Comforter near. 

104 

BINDINGS AND PRICES. 



Sheep, $1 50 

Roan, embossed, - 2 00 

Roan, gilt edges, - - 2 20 



Morocco, gilt edges - - - $3 00 
Morocco, extra, gilt, - 4 50 

Morocco, extra, antique, - 4 50 



1 2mo. 



GOD— BEING AND ATTBIBUTES. 



NIC^EA. 11, 12, lO. 



John Bacchus Dykes. 




X3 Holy, holy, holy. 

1 Holt, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty ! 
Early in the morning our song shall rise 

to thee ; 

Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty, 
God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity ! 

2 Holy, holy, holy ! all the saints adore thee, 
Casting down their golden crowns around 

the glassy sea ; 
Cherubim and seraphim falling down be- 
fore thee, 

Which wert and art and evermore shalt be. 



UXBRIDGE. 



3 Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness 

hide thee, 

Though the eye of sinful man thy glory 
may not see ; 
Only thou art holy; there is none beside 
thee, 

Perfect in power, in love and purity. 

4 Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty ! 
All thy works shall praise thy name, in 

earth, and sky, and sea ; 
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty ; 
God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity! 

REGINALD HEBER. 



Lowell Mason. 



1— r 




137 Tlie Trinity adored. 

1 holy, holy, holy Lord, 

Bright in thy deeds and in thy name, 
Forever be thy name adored, 
Thy glories let the world proclaim. 

2 Jesus, Lamb once crucified 
To take our load of sins away, 

Thine be the hymn that rolls its tide 
Along the realms of upper day. 



49 



3 Holy Spirit from above, 

In streams of light and glory given, 
Thou source of ecstasy and love, 
Thy praises ring through earth and 
heaven. 

4 God Triune, to thee we owe 
Our every thought, our every song; 

And ever may thy praises flow 
From saint and seraph's burning tongue. 

JAMES EASTBURN. 



BINDING AND PRICE. 



Cloth, 



$1 00 



8vo. 



THE SINNER— REPENTANCE. 
WOOD WORTH. L. M. William Batchelder Bradbury. 
-\> n _ , , , r ^—*+ -1 -r-r-4-r-J r^-H U+l L 



1. Just as I am, with - out 



I 

one plea, But that thy blood was shed for me, 



-I — 



f2 



And that thou bidd'st me come to thee, O Lamb of Grod, 



393 Just as I am. 

1 Just as I am, without one plea, 
But that thy blood was shed for me, 
And that thou bidd'st me come to thee, 
O Lamb of God, I come ! I come ! 

2 Just as I am, and waiting not 
To rid my soul of one dark blot, 

To thee whose blood can cleanse each spot 
O Lamb of God, I come ! I come ! 

3 Just as I am, though tossed about 
With many a conflict, many a doubt, 
Fightings within, and fears without, • 
O Lamb of God, I come! I come! 

4 Just as I am — poor, wretched, blind ; 
Sight, riches, healing of the mind, 
Yea, all I need, in thee to find, 

O Lamb of God, I come! I come! 

5 Just as I am — thou wilt receive, 
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve ; 
Because thy promise I believe, 

O Lamb of God, I come! I come! 

6 Just as I am — thy love unknown 
Hath broken every barrier down ; 
Now, to be thine, yea, thine alone, 

Lamb of God, I come! I come! 

Charlotte Elliott. 

394 Dawning hope. 

1 My soul before Thee prostrate lies ; 
To thee, her Source, my spirit flies ; 
My wants I mourn, my chains I see; 
O let thy presence set me free. 



mm 



2 Jesus, vouchsafe my heart and will 
With thy meek lowliness to fill ; 

No more her power let nature boast, 
But in thy will may mine be lost. 

3 Already springing hope I feel, 
God will destroy the power of hell, 
And, from a land of wars and pain, 
Lead me where peace and safety reign. 

4 One only care my soul shall know, 
Father, all thy commands to do ; 

And feel, what endless years shall prove, 
That thou, my Lord, my God, art love. 

C. F. Riehter. Tr. by J. Wesley. 



395 



Only Jesus. 



146 



1 When, gracious Lord, when shall it be 
That I shall find my all in thee ? 

The fullness of thy promise prove, 
The seal of thine eternal love ? 

2 A poor blind child I wander here, 
If haply I may feel thee near: 

dark ! dark ! dark ! I still must say, 
Amidst the blaze of gospel day. 

3 Thee, only thee, I fain would find, 
And cast the world and flesh behind ; 
Thou, only thou, to me be given, 

Of all thou hast in earth or heaven. 

4 When from the arm of flesh set free, 
Jesus, my soul shall fly to thee : 
Jesus, when I have lost my all, 

1 shall upon thy bosom fall. 

Charles Wesley. 



BINDINGS AND PRICES. 



Cloth, leather back, 
Morocco, extra, 



$1 75 
5 00 



M 



THE 



Revision of the Symn Sook 



OF THE 



METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE TO THE BISHOPS. 



CINCINNATI: 
HITCHCOCK & WALDEN 

NEW YORK: 
NELSON & PHILLIPS. 
1878. 



f 



